The Flaw in the Logic
by GCatsPjs
Summary: Fluff fic, B/B, Friendly banter... we'll see where it goes from there.
1. Predictability

My first Bones Fanfic... Reviews are welcome. I have no idea how long this is going to be... (twss)

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The crunching sound beside her had been going at a constant rate for several minutes. She tried to ignore it, tried so very hard to ignore it, but after the three hundredth and sixty forth chomp, it finally nicked her last nerve. In a swift movement, her hand flew to the bag in her partner's hand and she grasped the potato chip bag from his grip, crushing the remaining chips in her hand as she tossed the bag into the back seat without saying a word. The look on his face was one of deep offense, her partner's mouth opening and closing as he tried to spit out his retort, bits of potato chip falling from his lips as he whipped his head to the back seat.

"Hey, those were my chips!" Booth exclaimed as he looked to the back seat at the crumbled remains of his salt and vinegar potato chip bag.

"I'm aware of that." She muttered as she slouched a little more in her seat, rolling her eyes as she sighed heavily.

"What's your problem, Bones? You've been a downer since we started this stake out, and now you're starting to get a little punchy." Booth said as he reached back to grab the potato chip bag from the back seat, only to find a hand firmly planted on his bicep, fingertips pushing their way into his arm. His partner's eyes were wide with warning, her eyebrow arched as she dared him to move.

"Touch that bag, and you're going to be picking it out of your teeth for a week." She warned as he gave her a look that was between irritation and surprise as he pulled his hand back into the front seat, slumping in his own seat he sighed.

"I didn't have anything for dinner." He muttered as his eyes moved to his partner, who was staring at her fingernails in the darkened car, wiggling her fingers as she sighed.

"That's not my fault." She replied, turning her head to glance out the window.

"Actually, it was your fault." He said as he shifted slightly in his seat to face her, watching her head move as if she were going to turn it toward him, only for her to continue staring out the window. "If you hadn't insisted that you finish up your notes for that limbo case, we could have gotten something quick to eat at the diner, but instead you decided to…" He paused. "Bones, are you mocking me?" He asked, watching her mouth open and close as he spoke, stopping when he stopped talking.

"Huh?" She said, turning her head to face him, her eyebrows raised as she gave him an innocent look.

"You were mocking me!" He exclaimed as he sat up and watched her eyebrow arch in confusion.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said, turning her head toward the window.

"I was talking, and you were moving your mouth to what I was saying! You were mocking me!" He exclaimed as he moved forward and tried to stare at her, watching her gaze go back to the window.

"I was not mocking you." She said as she shrugged. "I was simply… predicting what you were going to say before you said it, having had this conversation on numerous occasions, I can very often predict exactly what you're going to say in any situation."

"Predictable? Predictable? You think I'm predictable?" He exclaimed as he sat back, tipping his head back he shook his head. "She thinks I'm predictable." He muttered as he noticed her gaze moving back to him. "What?"

"Who are you talking to?" She asked as he gave her a confused glare.

"The person in the back seat." He said, sarcastically as he nearly caught her eyes move to the back seat. "I am NOT predictable, Bones."

"Okay." She shrugged as she looked out the window.

"Okay?" He said as he watched her continue to stare out the window. "Okay? That's all you have to say, is okay?"

"Why prolong the argument… you say you're not predictable… I say you are, we argue back and forth until the subject is changed. I just decided to end the conversation there so we don't get into a bigger argument. Besides… I knew you were going to deny it." She shrugged.

"Wait." He said as she turned to face him, her eyes catching his. She shook her head slightly and waited for him to continue. "So now what you're saying… is that my predictability is so predictable, that you predicted that I'd say that I'm not predictable?"

"Precisely." She replied.

"How predictable of you!" He exclaimed as he watched her mouth open in protest as her lips curled slightly. She could tell that he was just teasing her now, the sparkle in his eye evident in the dim light that the streetlamps provided. "I am not predictable." He said as he watched her nod her head.

"I thought we ended this conversation." She said as she watched him shake his head.

"Oh… no… no no no… no, Bones… this conversation is 'far' from over. You offended me… offended me…" he said in a faux hurt tone, watching out the windshield for a moment.

"I offended you because I know what you're going to say before you do?" She asked as he nodded his head, their eyes battling the urge to force their lips to curl into a smile. "Booth, we are always having the same conversations." She shook her head. "We go around in circles until the conversation takes on a different subject, and the argument we were having before that is never taken care of. Therefore… there are certain keywords in our random conversations that typically bring us back to the previous argument time and again." She said as she shook her head.

"Oh really?" He asked as he smirked, shaking his head slightly.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Fine." He nodded.

"Fine?" She replied.

"Yeah… Fine… give me back my chips!" He said as he nearly launched himself into the back seat to get the bag of chips, her hands digging at his side as she pulled on him.

"No! Booth! No more chips!" She exclaimed, hearing his hand clamp down on the bag as she pulled on him.

"Stop! Let go of me! I want to have my chips! End this argument once and for all!" He said as she knelt on her seat and leaned over the back, her hands on Booth as she grabbed his shoulder, pushing him as he held onto the bag with his right hand.

"No! You eat like a cow!" She exclaimed as she pushed him harder, when suddenly, there was a sickening cracking sound as the mechanism in Booth's seat, and it suddenly gave out, sending the driver's seat, and its occupant slamming backwards, and try as she might to catch herself, Bones had no way of doing so, landing solidly on Booth's chest as he lay staring at the top of the car, and directly into the eyes of his partner... "Oops." She mumbled as she stared at the wide eyed expression on her partner's face, the chip bag slipping from his grip as she lay across his chest, a humored expression on her face.

"Oops…" He said as he tried desperately not to laugh, the humor in the situation unbearable, but after a moment he saw a serious expression pass over his partner's face, her eyes deepening slightly as she breathed heavily from their seemingly harmless altercation.

Their eyes caught for a moment as his smile disappeared from his lips, the weight of her finally making its impact on him as he suddenly felt himself becoming slightly uncomfortable. "I'm…" She mumbled as she started to slide from him. "I'm sorry…" She said as she rolled slightly, avoiding eye contact as she shifted. "I'm sorry, I think… I think we might have broken your seat…" She said as she rolled into her own seat and stared out the window for a moment, avoiding looking at him as she felt a blush rising up in her cheeks, her throat suddenly dry.

"Uh…" Booth said from his now horizontal position in his seat. "Yeah…" He said softly. "It's… it's okay, Bones…" He said as he shrugged.

"I don't really think it is, Okay… Booth." She said as she glanced down at him staring up at her with humor in his eyes.

"And why is that?" He asked, lifting his hands to rest behind his head as he looked up at his partner as she shook her head.

"Well… your seat is broken… and we're supposed to be watching this suspect… and what are we supposed to tell the Bureau when they ask how your seat was broken, Booth?"

"We'll tell them the truth." He shrugged, a smirk playing on his lips as he watched his partner, flushed with embarrassment as she shook her head and looked out the windshield.

"That you were reaching for chips, and I…"

"Nope." He said as he grinned, staring at the ceiling as he chuckled. "We'll just tell them that unpredictable things happen when I'm around." He said, listening to his partner's laugh, as he let out a full laugh as well.


	2. Good Going

It had been a long day in the lab, another case closed and Brennan was more than ready to find her way to her car and get home. She turned to close her office door, the key in the lock when she felt the presence of someone watching her back. Everyone else had left already, and she had decided to stay just a little longer to get rid of the paperwork that had been piling up on her desk when they had been thrown into the last case, a seemingly mild case of a skeleton having been found chained to a radiator that was set to be destroyed.

The stakeout from three days earlier had gone well, though with the minor problem of the seat mechanism snapping had caused some issues, Booth and Brennan were able to work around it in order to catch the perpetrator. No one on her side had gotten shot, stabbed, maimed or eaten, so the paperwork for the case wasn't as hefty as other cases, but she was happy to finally get to go home.

She pulled the key from the lock, and nearly jumped when she came face to face with the chest of a certain FBI agent, who had made his way quietly over the floor toward her office, standing behind her so that she wouldn't miss him when she turned around, she side stepped him and began to walk quickly toward the exit.

"Hey… not even a hello?" He asks as he turns, holding his arms out to his side in mock misunderstanding, listening to the clacking of her shoes on the linoleum as she walked away from him.

"I don't have time for this, Booth." She replied as she continued to walk.

"Time for what? I was just coming by to see if you wanted to get a cup of coffee, or some pie or…"

"I don't like pie, Booth." She muttered as she turned around, noting that he had taken several strides toward her, but when she turned around he stopped.

"I know you don't like pie… but I like pie… and you, you like coffee." He said as he wagged his finger at her, watching the slight scowl on her face turn slightly upwards. "You know, you've been in a really bad mood lately."

"I have a lot on my mind." She mumbled as she glanced toward the door.

"Did I do anything to put you in a bad mood?" He asked as he took a step forward, slowly closing the gap between them as she shook her head and gave him a thoughtful look.

"Mm… no." She said as she shrugged. "Just other stuff." She said as she turned around and took a couple of steps toward the door, listening closely to see if he was following. "Are you coming, or are you staying?" She asked as she heard the sound of his feet hitting the ground quickly, his arm instantly finding its way around her shoulder as he pulled her into his chest slightly and grinned as he walked out of the building with her.

"I knew you'd come around, Bones…" He said with a laugh as they walked together toward the elevators.

They arrived at the diner separately, walking in together, they moved toward their table as if it were instinctual, settling into their respective chairs as they glanced to the waitress who nodded toward her two regular customers and turned toward the pie case to plate a slice of pie.

Booth leaned slightly across the table and watched as Bones kept her eyes out the window for a moment, her eyes following the passing cars as she finally turned her head to face her partner, his eyes questioning her distance as she sighed. "So what did they say about your car?" She asked as she gave him a look that was filled with guilt.

"Something about a pin in the seat snapping… it was a ten minute fix… seat is working fine now." He said with a nod as she seemingly relaxed a bit. "Is that what this is about? You're worried about me getting in trouble for messing up my car?"

"No." She argued immediately, shaking her head as she looked up at the waitress as she brought their coffees and Booth's pie. She thanked the waitress silently and turned her attention back to her partner. "No. I mean… there isn't anything bothering me really. I think I'm just tired. The stakeout the other night, paperwork… the case… just tired, that's all." She said, avoiding eye contact with her partner as she watched his fork poke into his pie and sit for a moment as her eyes lifted to his.

"Well we're going to find out what it is." He said as he scooped a forkful of pie into his mouth. "We'll find out what it is." He said with food in his mouth as Brennan shook her head.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." She said seriously as she watched him give her a confused glance, scooping another bit of pie into his mouth.

"What's wrong with me talking with my mouth full?" He asked, a bit of crumb, rolling off the end of his lip.

"Because it's gross. Eat like a civilized adult for once." She said as her eyes caught a bit of pie on the corner of his mouth that was just sitting there. "Booth…" She said as she poked the side of her mouth that had the bit of pie on it, watching him rub at his face to find the offending bit of pie. "No… you missed it… Booth… you completely… Ugh…" She rolled her eyes and leaned across the table, swiping the side of his mouth with her finger, she got the bit of pie from his face, only to find that he had snatched her wrist into his hand, and was now admiring the bit of fruit on the end of her fingertip.

"Booth… what are you doing?" She asked, her voice slightly more panicked than annoyed, his eyes sparkling playfully as he loosened her wrist slightly, though she didn't pull it back.

"Getting my pie back." He said as he pulled her hand toward him, slipping her finger into his mouth, he watched as her eyes widened in surprise, though he himself was more surprised that she hadn't pulled her hand back and slapped him. He took her finger into his mouth slowly, letting his tongue run along her skin as he slowly released her wrist, letting the hand move naturally back to its owner, her eyes widened in surprise as she watched him look down at his plate, his cheeks obviously flushed with a bit of color as he chuckled to himself.

"That… was…" She mumbled, trying for a moment to find her words, finding that she couldn't quite breathe, let alone find words to sputter from her lips. "I…have to… I was going to… Thanks for the coffee." She said as she tossed a dollar down on the table.

"Aw… Bones, I was just kidding around…" He said, instantly feeling guilty for making her feel uncomfortable. He had only meant it as a joke, and he hadn't realized that he had pushed his foot just a little bit over the invisible line. "Bones…" He said as he watched her grab her purse, and get up, and without a second look, she was out of the diner. Booth watched her race to her car from his spot at the window, pausing for several moments before she peeled her car from the parking space quickly, disappearing down the street. "Good going there, Seeley…" He mumbled to himself, rolling his eyes as he pushed his seat back slightly and lifted his feet onto the chair across from himself.


	3. Not Unnoticed

Brennan drove home in almost a state of shock, the actions of her partner had made her flustered and unsure of herself, and she wasn't quite sure what he was thinking. She wasn't even sure what she was thinking as she drove toward her apartment. She parked her car in the usual parking space, her eyes staring straight out of the windshield as she tried to methodically pull apart the emotions she was feeling, her stomach sort of churning, her mind rolling again and again over the actions of the person that she had spent most of her free time with, most of her work time with, and tried to move through the archives of her memories to recall any other situations in which he had made her feel like that before. Like her heart was going to burst out of her chest, like her stomach was rumbling, but it wasn't hungry, and it wasn't full, but there was something that was just making it turn in an almost pleasurable way, a nervous feeling that made her fingers tremble suddenly, and something in her brain that refused to allow her to pull her hand from his hold, a raw curiosity of what he would do if she just let him do what his mind was allowing him to do, to her.

There had always been the tender touches, the hugs, the way his head tilted just slightly, and the brown depths of his eyes became slightly darker when she had felt helpless, useless, powerless, on an occasion. There was the protective nature of the man, the way he would insist on her being his backup, trusting her to be the one to rescue him if the opportunity arose, and at the same time sacrificing his life for her safety. They were partners, and it was his duty, but he always did it with an intense enthusiasm that caught her off guard, teasing him that she could handle it herself was always her way of letting him know that she appreciated his protection but that she had a mutual feeling of protecting him, keeping him safe, keeping him out of dangerous situations, even if more times than not her clumsy nature ended up giving him a flesh wound, or making some gang leader put a hit out on her.

He had thought that she didn't know about the incident that made him late for the funeral, the incident that had made it's way into a testimony of that same gang leader a month later in an unrelated case that Booth hadn't seen, or at least pretended that he hadn't seen. She had been grateful for the protection that he had provided for her, the constant need that he seemed to have to keep those around him safe. She felt that by allowing him to do that, it would make him feel important and needed, and he was important, and he was needed. She had quite the knack for finding trouble, and with any inseparable duo, he was seemingly incomplete without her by his side, or at least that's what she told herself.

But no, the recent turn of events involving her partner was strange and uncharted territory. What she mostly thought of as his testosterone driven ramblings were beginning to affect the way that she breathed, the way that her heart beat, they were forcing her body to take strange illogical leaps that she had never expected, nor foreseen. He was flirting with her, and she had no idea how to take it.

It had begun almost two weeks earlier, the noticing, that is and it had been on her mind ever since. She had tried to avoid it, tried to indulge herself on mindless fact rambling about how the case before this last one had really tugged at their heartstrings. Anytime a child had been involved in a case, she and Booth seemed to connect just a little more fully, a little more completely, especially when it had to do with a foster child. On this particular case he had been very aware of her feelings and reactions, constantly pushing her to talk to him, to confide in him, when it had gotten to the point of spending so much time together that they had just slipped into that routine onto the next case as well, and the stakeout, well the stakeout gave her that time to think about things, and it was very difficult to do that when he was just feet away from her munching on those chips.

She smiled a little at the thought of the look on his face when the seat had fallen backwards, and for a millisecond, she had even thought she saw a serious gleam in his eyes as he took that slow deep breath before he started laughing. But now, now she sit in her car staring at the light post across from her apartment building, the picture of that look in his eye as he held her wrist in his hand and brought her finger to his…

"I have to get inside…" She mumbled to herself as she pulled her key from the ignition and grabbed her briefcase from the seat beside her, slipping from the car she hurried to the stairs and made her way up to her apartment quickly. She stepped up to the door and could hear her phone ringing from inside, and quickly slammed the key into the lock where she opened the door and ran toward the phone, her door closing behind her as she reached for the phone and turned quickly, flopping down hard onto the couch as she let out a puff of air. "Brennan." She said as she waited for the reply on the other end, she smiled when she heard her best friend's voice.

"Hey, Sweetie." Angela said as she listened to her friend puff slightly as she tried to catch her breath. "Running a marathon over there?" She asked with humor in her voice, waiting for her friend's response.

"Huh?" Brennan replied, misunderstanding the question as she heard Angela laugh slightly.

"Nevermind, Sweetie. What are you doing tonight?"

"Ange, it's almost ten o'clock. I just got home from the lab." She said, glancing toward her bathroom with the garden tub, the candles, bubble bath. The one place she had been thinking about for hours now.

"So you're saying you don't want to go out?" She asked as she heard her answer in the very slight whine in Brennan's voice.

"Not tonight." She said quickly. "I'm just going to take a bath… read… and go to bed." She said as she shrugged. "It's been a long couple of days."

"You're sure?" Angela asked, trying one more time to entice her friend from her chosen relaxing hideaway within her apartment.

"I think its best." She nodded, knowing not only that she just wanted to relax, but that if her friend saw her in the state she was currently in, she would surely be able to squeeze the details from her friend regarding the stomach twisting incident that had occurred earlier in the evening. "Goodnight, Ange." She said with a slight smile as she set her phone back on the cradle and sat back on the couch. In her pocket, she could feel her phone vibrating a soft vibration as it rang, and she lifted it quickly as she glanced at the name across the front.

'Booth'.

She sighed as she contemplated answering it, though her eyes moved to the bathroom and back to the phone again. She felt her stomach twist a little as the fluttering feeling in her heart occurred again. "Sorry partner…" She said as she shook her head. "You're going to have to wait until after I get my bath in before we have this conversation." She said as she sighed and tossed the phone on the couch as she made her way toward the bedroom to get ready for her bath.


	4. Unpredictable

Brennan took a careful step into her bathtub, the bubbles that surrounded her seemed to pull her in, the heat of the water beneath the bubbles was so hot and inviting that she could actually feel herself melting into its warmth, her other foot entering the hot bath as she reached up and turned on the radio above her, the gentle thumping of the bass soothing her ears and the start of the headache that had moved in like an angry storm cloud. She carefully sat down in the tub, the smell of lilacs filling the corners of the room as she lean back against the tub, letting her legs straighten as she reached to the side of the tub for her face mask. She listened to the gentle thumping of the radio, her eyes closed and darkened by the mask as she breathed deeply the soaps and bubbles of the bath as she tried to find some solace in the rhythmic beat of the music blasting from the stereo.

She smiled at the thought of installing this stereo system in her bathroom, the gentle vibrations were soothing, the scent, inviting, the darkness that the mask provided for her soothed the rumbling in her head. She was resting and drifting gently into a relaxed state when she heard the phone ring in her apartment. "Give it up, Booth!" She exclaimed with a sigh as she reached behind her and turned the knob on the radio sending the thumping sound louder as it drowned out the sound of the phone ringing.

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Booth sat in the SUV, parked directly behind Brennan's car as he tried her apartment phone number again. He listened to the ring after unanswered ring and he sighed. "Come on Bones…" He mumbled. "You can't be that mad at me, are you?" He said out loud as he sighed. He flipped his cell phone closed again and continued to watch her door. After she had left the diner so quickly, he had gone home, changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and tried to call her cell phone, hoping she'd answer so that he could at least have the last word.

He hadn't meant to scare her with his actions, maybe tease her a little since she had been acting so distant lately, staring out the window ,telling him that she was fine when there was something very clearly on her mind. He had been finding himself flirting with her just a little more than usual lately, that foster child case having taken a lot out of them both, he found himself spending more time with his partner, finding even more commonalities in their personalities that they had no idea even existed. They had been joking a lot more lately, and when he watched that shy look in her eyes in the diner, the way that she was chiding him about being messy, he thought that it couldn't hurt to tease just a little more. When her finger had come in his direction to wipe that bit of pie off his face however, it was as if his body was telling his brain to just back off for a moment, and before he knew it, his hand was lightly wrapped around her wrist. She hadn't pulled back… knocked him in the nose. She didn't pull away, so why was he so worried? Why was he so concerned? Probably because she hadn't answered her cell phone, and now she wasn't answering her home phone, even though he knew that she was in her apartment.

His rambling thoughts were beginning to give him a headache. He climbed from the seat quickly and closed the door behind him, looking up at the lights in her apartment. "Well, she's not sleeping." He mumbled as he walked toward the front door, climbing the stairs quickly. He got to the first landing and tried her apartment phone again. He stood against the wall as he dialed the number, looking up at the apartment, he felt his throat go dry by what he saw. Her door was closed, but hanging from the keyhole were her keys, dangling as if forgotten, or maybe she had been pulled away from the door and… He found himself jogging up the stairs quickly, reaching for the gun that was no longer on his person, for he had taken it off and left it at home.

He listened at the door, and through the wooden door all he could hear was the thumping of music from within. He swallowed hard as he raised his knuckles to the door. "Bones?" He said softly as he rapped on the door. "Bones, you in there? Are you alright?" He said again, a little louder as he waited for another moment, his heart beating so hard in his chest that he could hear it in his ears. He carefully turned the doorknob and stepped inside, finding the music from within to be blasting angrily throughout the apartment as he stealthily moved through the apartment.

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Brennan groaned slightly in satisfaction as she felt her muscles loosening beneath the soft bubbles of the bath, the warm water worked at her tight and stressed muscles to relax and bring a sweet smile to her lips, her eyes closed beneath the mask as her hands lifted to the back of her head, resting against them as she just felt herself sinking in the water. The thumping of the music had melted her headache and had helped her to enter a thoughtless trance as she smirked and slid her head beneath the water for a moment, indulging in the sweet smell and relaxing feel of the warm water covering her face.

One moment she was immersed in the sensual experience of the bath, her face covered by the warm, sweet smelling water, and in the next moment there was a vice grip on her arm. Her entire body tensed as the arm attempted to pull her from the tub, and with all of her strength, she sent her foot flying from the water, colliding with the person on the other end of the grip. Her mouth had opened in shock, however and with that a flow of water had entered her mouth and her lungs, sending her into convulsions of coughs. She heard a crash across the room and the sound of someone screaming over the constant rhythm of the music, water in her eyes, ears, and lungs as she grabbed her towel from beside the tub and pulled it into the bathtub with her, she was coughing intensely as she tore her eye mask off and looked up to see blood on the wall, and the remnants of her mirror covering the floor as she rubbed the water from her eyes.

"What the HELL, BONES!" Booth's voice boomed over the sound of the music as she finally saw the perpetrator who had 'attacked' her. Her partner sit on the floor against the wall, crammed beside the bathroom sink, his hand covered in blood, his other hand holding it up as he sit on the floor screaming over the music as she stare at him with widened eyes.

"Booth? What are you doing here?" She exclaimed.

"TURN THE MUSIC DOWN!" He screamed as he held his hand. "Bones! Turn the music down!" He exclaimed.

"Hang on! Let me turn the music down!" She shouted back at him as she slammed her fist down on the stereo behind her, her eyes bloodshot and red from the soap and the coughing, her lungs still filled with water as she tried to speak, though still coughing. "What are you doing here Booth?" She shouted loudly, even though the music was now off.

"You don't have to yell now, Bones… the music is off." He said as he held his bloodied hand up and winced in pain as he moved slightly, feeling the glass beneath him as he tried to stand up.

"I'm not yelling because of the music! I'm yelling because I'm in 'my' apartment minding 'my' business, when you came in and attacked me!" She exclaimed.

"I didn't attack you!" He exclaimed. "I didn't attack you! I am the one bleeding! I'm the one with possible internal injuries because of your karate kid imitation!" he exclaimed.

"I don't know what that means…" She mumbled as she shook her head, the anger returning to her face. "The point is! I'm trying to take a bath!" She exclaimed, coughing again. "I was taking a bath… and… what are you doing in my bathroom?" She exclaimed, suddenly very aware of her nakedness, even though she held a soaked towel to her body, covering all of her most important parts as she leaned forward slightly and looked to him. "Get out of my bathroom!"

"I thought you were drowning, Bones! Who takes a bath with their head under the water?" He demanded as he stood over her holding his hand. "I mean really! You left your keys in the door, your clothes were strewn all over out there… it looked like you…" he paused for a moment, realize how it actually did look. His first indication that she had been attacked, or worse… but the more he spoke, the more the situation looked almost as if someone had ravished her. Distracted her when she was unlocking her apartment, disrobing her as they… He shook his head as he tried to push all 'naked Bones' thoughts from his mind, only succeeding in partially doing that, since there was a very naked Bones in front of him. He held his hand and winced as he looked at the cuts from the mirror.

"Are you alright?" She asked, leaning forward. "Let me see your hand." She said as she held her hand up, not caring for the moment that she was indeed naked, though hoping that there were several strategically located bubbles that would hide her curves and whatnot.

"It's fine… it's fine!" He said as he lifted his t-shirt and wrapped his hand in it for a moment, glancing to his partner as she shook her head, feeling the heat of his embarrassment rising in his cheeks and his ears. "It's fine." He stated.

"No!" She exclaimed. "Show me your hand, Booth. Let me see it…" She said as she wiggled her fingers at him, beckoning him to bring it closer. "Come on… hand…" She said as she waited for him to relent.

"It's not like you're a medical doctor, Bones." He said as he watched her icy glare hit him intensely and he shook his head and slowly pulled his hand from his shirt as he lifted it down to her. "Besides, I'm a little more concerned about the possibility of cracked ribs…" He muttered as he felt her hands on his, inspecting it carefully as she looked up at him, wincing at the pain of his ribs now, waiting for her to assess the damage to his hand.

"You're not going to need stitches." She said as she took her hand gingerly into his, watching him react to the sting. She pulled a small piece of glass from his hand effortlessly, seemingly happy with herself for causing just a bit of pain in his hand, as he had scared her so much. Her heart was still beating rapidly as she moved his hand around in hers, feeling a blush run up her cheeks as she was reminded again of her nakedness. She nodded toward the medicine cabinet. "There should be some peroxide and some bandaging materials in that cupboard there… take them into the living room and… and sit down for a minute… let me get out of the bath and get dressed…" She muttered as she watched him give her an innocent glance. "And don't look at me like that, Booth… I'm really mad at you right now." She said as he gave her a sheepish look and looked down at the glass on the ground.

"You… you can't get out of the bathtub… with all of that glass on the floor." He stated as he shook his head. "I'm not going to let you cut your feet up." He said as he watched the anger in her face slowly begin to rise back to full throttle.

"Get out of my bathroom, Booth." She stated, her voice serious and irritated.

"No." He said. "Let me… bandage my hand up quickly. I won't look, okay… just… get your bathrobe on… and I'll carry you out of the bathroom." He said as he grabbed a few things from the medicine cabinet before she argued, setting his hand in the sink as he poured peroxide over the cuts, wincing as the pain stung at him, bubbling on his skin as he listened for a moment, hearing no noise behind him. "Bones, I'm serious… bathrobe… come on… let the water out of the tub." He said as he listened for a moment, and then heard a slight splash and water going down the drain.

"Don't look…" she said as she sighed.

"No looking, I promise." He said, involuntarily looking up, catching a flash of skin behind him, he swallowed hard and put his head down, tending to his hand. He waited and procrastinated for a few minutes, wrapping the gauze around his hand as he made sure that he had given her enough time to cover herself.

"Are you going to play nursemaid all evening, or are you going to help me?" She muttered from behind him as he stared at his hand for a second.

"You ready?" He asked as he waited for her sigh.

"Yes." She said as he turned around to face her, taking a very sharp intake of breath as he faced his partner. Her body was wrapped in a dark brown terrycloth robe that covered her comfortably. It was tied around her waist, the front dipping slightly, a small crevice that made the tops of her breasts just visible. Her hair was long and soaking, small droplets running along its length, dripping rhythmically onto the floor, onto the bathrobe, her skin. "Booth?" She said, watching him stare at her for a moment as he released that breath. "Booth, are you going to help me, or make me walk across the glass on the floor in some sort of ritualistic partner trust exercise… because… I don't think I'm…"

"No… no, here…" He said as he stepped forward, immediately lifting her from the tub, tucking her into his chest as he shook his head. He tried his best to avoid eye contact, and with the crunching of the glass beneath his feet, and the sound of his heart pounding erratically, he made his way out of the bathroom with his partner.

"You can't replace that mirror you know, Booth…" She said as he rolled his eyes. "It's an heirloom…" her voice just on the verge of a giggle as he pretended to drop her as they approached the living room.


	5. Blind Anger

As soon as they entered the living room, he let her feet touch the ground, and she turned around sharply to face him. The look on her face was still of a stunned confusion as she watched him turn around and fall lazily back onto the couch, his feet lifting to the coffee table as he gave her a curious glance to see if she was going to beat him, maim him, or just tell him to get out. Instead of waiting, however, he chose to remind her why he had barged into her bathroom in the first place.

"Here's your keys." He said, tossing the keychain full of keys at her, watching as her hand snapped up and yanked them from the air.

"You still never answered my question." She said, dropping the keys onto the coffee table with a clunk as she watched him, her eyes wide with questions as she held her bathrobe closed with her hand.

He was about to make a sarcastic remark when his eyes finally met hers, and deep within the frustration within them, he noticed a bit of amusement at the situation. He could tell by the way she was holding herself that she wasn't actually as prudish as she was acting, her body securely in her bathrobe, it was almost as if she were trying to hide from him, not because of her dress, or lack thereof, but because of something else.

"Booth?" She said again, pulling him from his daydream as he found his eyes snapping back to hers again. "Why are you here?"

"I… was…" He said, nearly stammering as he tried to find a way out of the situation, his nerves shot to hell when he thought she had been attacked. "I was worried about you." He shrugged.

"Worried about me?" She asked as she laughed. It wasn't a joyful laugh, but more of a guffaw that sent her eyes rolling as she began to pace in front of the coffee table. "You were worried about me? You saw me more than an hour ago, Booth… are you worried I wouldn't make it to my apartment? Worried that someone was going to come in and attack me? Someone did come in and attack me, it was YOU!" She exclaimed as she became increasingly agitated with the situation, her blood pressure was slowly rising, the headache that she had been fighting was coming back in full force and the amusement quickly slipping away.

"No!" He explained. "No… I was worried because for the past three weeks, you've been like a zombie. I don't feel like you're concentrating well, or focusing on the cases. It's like something is on your mind, and you won't talk to me about it. Was it something in the case? Did I do something? You're obviously distracted by something." He said defensively, pulling his legs from the coffee table as he watched her pace.

"I'm not distracted. I've been doing my job… and I love how when something is off, you automatically blame yourself. As if you are the be all and end all in this world and would have some cosmic affect on the way that I act or react to things." She said, not looking directly at him, her hand waving slightly in the air as she stared at the couch, just to the right of where he was sitting. What a way to remain detached, Booth… blame everything on yourself… it solves everything." She said sarcastically as she paced a little faster.

"Bones… Stop being ridiculous… stop pacing… talk to me. Talk to me about what's on your mind." He demanded as he started to get up.

"Don't." She said as she pointed at him. "I'm perfectly fine, Booth. I'm fine… you don't have to come to the rescue… I'm fine." She snapped.

"You're obviously not perfectly fine. You're pacing like a lion who is about to attack, and I'm afraid because I'm the only other one with a jugular vein in this apartment!" He exclaimed as he watched her stop, her eyebrow rising as she stared him in the eyes. Her blue eyes were darkened slightly as he watched them narrow. He watched as the color rose in her cheeks, her eyes appeared to be stinging, slightly bloodshot as she stared at him.

"Lioness." She said in a low growl.

"What?" He said as he gave her a confused look, his own eyes narrowing as he shook his head. "What the hell are you talking about, Bones?" He asked, immediately regretting his words.

"Lioness! Booth! Lioness! You said I was pacing like a lion! I am a woman! Have you not noticed? A real live, living, breathing woman, Booth! I have needs! Desires! I have feelings! I am a hot blooded, intelligent, angry, frustrated WOMAN!" She exclaimed as she swung her leg back suddenly, almost reflexively and let it fly forward, kicking the leg of the coffee table with her bare toe as hard as she could. The leg of the table made a sickening crack noise, or perhaps it was Brennan's toe, and the leg of the table sailed across the room, barely missing Booth's head as it crashed into the bookcase behind him. The coffee table itself crashed to the floor sending all of the journals, her keys, and anything else slamming to the floor. Suddenly, everything was silent, and even though she tried everything within her powers not to do it, she looked up into her partner's shock widened eyes.

She could suddenly feel her stomach churning and twisting, her embarrassment obvious. Her face was red with anger and embarrassment and tears were welling up in her eyes as she stared at him with a wide eyed expression that confessed that she was as shocked at her own outburst as he was. Before another word was uttered, before she could assess the blindingly sharp pain in her foot, or even breathe another breath, she was out of the room, her bedroom door slammed and locked as Booth sit, staring at nothing as his partner's words screamed inside his mind.


	6. Pleading

**HI EVERYONE! *waves emphatically* Now that we've reached chapter 6, i should probably introduce myself... i know, i know... get on with the story already... :) Well... for starters, I'm Colleen... and this is NOT my first fanfic... just my first BONES fanfiction. For those of you who know me, you understand my writing style and my 'cliffhangers' and my need for drama. However, those of you that don't know me should be informed that I do not write with a specific plan. I have a start and a goal, and anything that happens in the middle is just gravy. What I mean is... I know how the story ends, but i dont know how long it's going to take me to get there... Thank you for reading... and i hope you stick around! If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me... And to all of my buds over on the backup board... *tingle***

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Booth stared into space for a few moments, the sound of her door slamming and locking was only background noise for the turmoil that was occurring in his mind. He had never seen Bones scream like that. He had never seen her so angry, upset, so absolutely uninhibited and uncensored. Sure, there had been times where she had shouted at him, been irritated or annoyed. She had given him angry looks or raised her eyebrow at him, but never, ever had she lost her cool like that. Never, ever had she been violent in his general direction, and never, ever had she been so enraged in his presence that she had caused herself physical pain.

Pain. His breath caught in his throat as he thought of the sound that the leg of the table had made as her foot connected with it. He cringed as he thought of the shot of pain that must have moved through her body as the bones in her foot crushed against the table.

He stood up and looked down, seeing the mess in front of him, he glanced toward her bedroom door and listened for any signs of noise from where he was standing. Hearing none, he slid to the side and moved quietly toward the bedroom, tipping his forehead against the door he listened. "Bones?" His voice was tender and soft as he brought his knuckles to the door and rapped softly. "Bones, open the door." There were no noises within, no indication that she was going to open the door, or for that matter, no indications that she hadn't climbed out of her bedroom window just to get away. "Bones, please… let me see your foot." He said as he knocked again, still hearing nothing from within the room.

He sighed softly and listened for another couple of minutes, his fingertips trembling against the wood of the door as he tapped it lightly. "Bones… just… I'm sorry." He said, his voice sending the signal of his defeated heart through the door to her. He wasn't exactly sure what he was sorry for, but the thought of her being in pain on the other side of that locked door made his stomach hurt and his head filling with all kinds of thoughts as he listened just a little longer. "Bones…" He said again as he sighed.

She was too proud to show her pain, and he knew that he may not see her for the rest of the night. She was embarrassed for her outburst, and now she had barricaded herself in her room to keep him from comforting her, or perhaps she thought he would tease her, in a good natured way of course, but maybe that's what she thought. Maybe she thought that he would coddle her, kick his need to be her protector into overdrive and insist that she go to the emergency room. He winced as he imagined her foot swelling while she lie on the bed, holding her breath against the pain, trying to be strong, trying to be brave, trying to prove to him that she will not be taken down by her own irrational behavior.

"Bones, open the door." Booth said as he knocked again, this time his voice stronger.

"Go home, Booth!" She exclaimed, her voice sounded alarmed, in pain. He could hear in her voice that she was crying, or that she had cried. He could tell she was in a lot of pain, but just hearing her voice made him feel a little better. She hadn't passed out. He sighed and leaned against the door for a second, looking around the room, he surveyed the damage. Everything that had been on the coffee table was now on the floor, the table leg lie haphazardly against the bookcase. His eyes scanned the room and fell on the small sprinkles of glass that had followed them from the bathroom on his shoes. He glanced to the bedroom one more time, and then made his way into the hallway. Beside the door, he opened the closet, pulling out a small broom and dust pan, he made his way back to the bathroom and cleaned the glass from the floor.

His eyes kept moving toward the bedroom door, waiting for it to open, for her to let down her defenses for one moment so that he could look at the damage, get her to a hospital if needed. He put the glass bits in a paper bag, rolled it up, and tossed it in the trash can, and then walked toward the bookcase. He picked up the leg of the table, cringing at the split wood as he again heard the sickening cracking sound in his mind. He looked toward the bedroom door again and then walked around the couch where the journals lay across the floor. He bent down and carefully began to lift the journals from the floor, quietly gathering them into a pile, he took a look at the table and held the journals under his arm as he propped the table up with the leg. He smirked in satisfaction when the table stayed upright, though he knew better than to set the journals back on it. When he turned around, he was surprised to see that the bedroom door was opened.

In the doorway, dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, stood his partner, rather… leaned his partner.

She was staring out at Booth, her eyes red-rimmed and full of pain. Her damp hair had been pulled into a ponytail, and she tried for all it was worth to look 'fine'. His breath had caught in his throat, not knowing what to say to her, and not knowing what to expect from her.

"Bones?" He uttered, his eyes showing his concern as she leaned awkwardly against the door jamb, her foot in the air behind her so that he couldn't see it.

"Booth?" She managed to squeak out as she cringed in pain, a tear threatening to fall down her cheek. "I… Emergency room." She mumbled as she let her foot carefully to the floor without putting any weight on it.

"Geez, Bones!" Booth exclaimed as he walked toward her as quickly as he could, dropping the pile of journals on the couch as he knelt in front of her, very gingerly lifting her foot into his hands as she held onto the door frame for support.

"I think I fractured my fourth and fifth metatarsals… the swelling indicates that I…" She started to ramble on and on some medical jargon, when suddenly she found herself being lifted from the floor. "Booth! What are you doing?" She exclaimed as she gripped his shirt with her fist as he started walking quickly across her apartment, his partner cradled within them.

"I'm taking you to the emergency room, Bones… your meta… thingy is making your foot swell up like a balloon. Purple is not a good color on you." He said as he carried her across the room and balanced her carefully as he pulled his set of keys from his pocket.

"But Booth! What about my…" She exclaimed as he swung her around carefully, and moved toward the door. He backed out of the apartment and closed the door, locking it quickly with the spare key that she had given him. She was rambling about her foot as he moved, his mind only on getting her to a hospital as soon as possible. As he carried her toward the SUV, she eventually quieted in his arms. "I always thought that I looked very nice in purple." She mumbled as he swung open the door of the SUV and placed her inside, closing the door behind her as he walked around quickly to the driver's side.


	7. Temperance

The car ride was filled with an uncomfortable silence, neither knowing what to say or how to say it. Booth glanced over at her as he drove, her eyes were still brimming with tears as she tried not to move her foot. "How is it?" He asked as she turned her bloodshot, exhausted eyes in his direction. The blue crystal color reflected off the street lamps, and he gave her a supportive and concerned smile.

"It's throbbing." She said softly as she looked back down to her foot. She could feel it swelling, the blood pumping through her veins as she tried to remain as still as possible. Suddenly, the SUV went over a bump that jarred her leg, and she let out a yelp. "Booth!" She shouted as she reached down to steady her foot, sending her forehead smacking into the dashboard as she yelped again.

"Bones, what are you doing? Trying to knock yourself out?" He asked as he reached across and touched her shoulder, watching her lift her hand to her forehead as she glared at him.

"Don't worry about me." She muttered as she swatted at his hand. "Watch the road."

"Hey." He said as he reached his hand for hers, waiting for her to put hers in his as he steered with his bandaged left hand. "Just… hold my hand and squeeze it when it hurts."

"You do know that it doesn't actually work that way, right? That there is no way for me to physically transfer my pain to you simply by you holding my hand?" She stated defiantly as Booth gave her an irritated glare.

"Put your goddamned hand in mine, Bones!" He demanded as she slapped her palm into his and squeezed. "Good… now at least this way, you could inflict some pain on me if you want." He said as he felt the grip on his hand soften slightly as she slouched a little in the seat, her eyes moving to the window as she kept her gaze outside.

The silence that filled the car now was just a bit more awkward than it had been before, but the anxiety that they had both been feeling was only tripled by the physical contact. Brennan kept her eyes on the window, her foot still throbbing, and though she couldn't be sure, she thought for a moment that the pressure that Booth was exerting on her hand, was somehow at least distracting enough to make the pain in her foot appear to be more dull. Adrenaline. She swallowed hard.

Booth could feel his partner stiffen at their contact, her body language was showing her discomfort, and he felt bad that he was the one that was causing it. Very slowly, he started to pull his hand from hers, only to feel her grip tighten. He could see out of the corner of his eye that she had glanced in his direction, her body slowly relaxing as she continued to grip his hand tightly. He pulled up to the emergency room, his eyes flashing to the wheelchair that was inside the breezeway as he glanced to his partner and slowly extricated his hand from hers. "Now don't move…"

"Booth, I don't need a…" She started to protest as he climbed from the car. He wagged his finger in his direction, giving her a pointed glare.

"Move out of this car, Bones and it's going to be more than just your foot hurting." He said as he closed the door and ran around the car.

"Hey! You can't threaten me!" She exclaimed as she watched him grab the wheelchair. She turned and opened the car door as he approached, his head shaking as he grabbed the door with his bandaged hand, opening it wider.

"What did I say?" He said as he reached for her.

"I'm still in the car." She said, giving him an insistent look in which he had to acknowledge.

"Yes, yes… you're still in the car…" He said, holding back from calling her a 'smart ass', since she always had a come back for that. He watched as she pulled her foot from the car. The swelling had only gotten worse, and the way that her toes were bent, it looked grotesquely misshapen. He could feel bile rising up in his stomach at the purple and blue bruises that ran up her foot and he looked up into her eyes as he reached for her.

"It looks bad." She muttered as she watched the look of panic in Booth's eyes cloud over as he shook his head.

"Let's let the experts determine that." He said as he helped her into the chair and closed the door. She sat and looked up at him.

"I am an expert, Booth. It looks bad." She said as she felt him push the wheelchair, her head tipping back to look at his expression. His focus was on the front doors of the hospital and nothing else.

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By one o'clock in the morning, Brennan was really starting to feel the exhaustion weighing on her body. She and Booth had been sitting in the waiting room for nearly three hours. Booth moved to stand up, and she reached her hand out and grabbed his arm. "Booth… don't…" She warned as he gave her an innocent look.

"What? I was just going to go over there to ask if they realized that there were still people waiting." He said as he looked around the room, noting that most of the chairs that were once full of injured/sick people were now empty.

"I think they know." She said as she tugged his arm. "You made it abundantly clear that you were here when we first arrived." She said, referring to the flashing of his badge, and the scoff he had received. His reaction was less than pleasant, but Bones was able to calm him down. "Sit down."

"We've been here for hours, Bones. All they've done is give you an ice pack for your foot… there has to be more they can do, pain killers or something…"

"I don't like to take medication for pain. It clouds my judgment and…"

"No, I meant for me." He said as he sat down in the uncomfortable plastic chair.

"Why do you need pain killers?" She asked as she turned her head to look at her partner. "You know that narcotics are extremely addictive. If they allow you to take them, you wouldn't be able to carry your gun, or drive a vehicle…" Brennan prattled on as Booth gave her a look of irritation. "What?" She said as she watched him sigh and shake his head.

"Nothing." He said, watching his partner carefully as she watched him back.

"What, Booth?" She asked as he took a slow, deep breath.

"Why did you do it, Bones?"

"Why did I what?" She asked, not focusing on him as she replied.

"You know what I'm asking, Bones. Why did you kick the table? Why were you yelling at me? I mean… I get that I pissed you off, it happens a lot… but…what made you take it out on the table?" He asked. Her eyes remained in her lap, her cheeks flushed a deep pink.

"I don't really want to talk about it, Booth." She said with a sigh. "It was a moment of bad judgment and… I just ended up hurting myself."

"So you don't want to tell me why you insisted on shouting at me about how I am blind to the knowledge that you're a living, breathing, extraordinary woman?" He asked, watching as she opened her mouth to respond.

"Ms. Brennan?" The nurse called from the doorway as both of them looked over toward her.

"Doctor Brennan." They said at the same time as her head turned back to her partner.

"I have to go." She said as she tilted her head, watching Booth's eyes as they centered on her. She started to pull the wheelchair backwards as she watched him for several moments. "I never said extraordinary." She said as she started to pull the wheelchair around in a circle as she watched the smirk on his lips as she turned herself out of his line of vision.

Suddenly, someone grabbed the handles on the chair, and as she went to turn her head, she came face to face with her partner. "No, you didn't say that… I thought I'd throw it in on my own." He said in a very soft, low voice, watching as she blushed. He pushed the wheelchair over to the nurse, his face still right beside his partners and the nurse stepped to the side, waiting for Booth to let go of the handles as he put his lips very close to his partner's ear. "And for the record, Temperance." He said, sending a chill down her spine with the use of her first name, a slight bit of a smile hidden in his exhausted sounding voice. "I have noticed that you're a woman… I am very well aware of that fact... in fact, you're everything you described and more." He said, leaving a chaste, tender, barely identifiable kiss right beside her ear as he stood up straight and smiled at the nurse. "Take care of her…" He said with a sigh. "I'll be… out here when she's done." He said with a shrug, as he took a very deep breath and released it slowly as he watched Bones try to meet his eyes as she was pushed into the hallway to the exam rooms, their eyes clashing for just a split second before she disappeared around a corner.


	8. Waiting

Booth sat in the uncomfortable plastic chair that he had been sitting in for hours. He stretched his legs out across several seats and glanced to the door that his partner had just disappeared behind. He thought for a moment that maybe he should have gone with her, if not for moral support, but to cure the intense case of boredom that he was experiencing. A slow smile spread across his face as he sit staring across at the door, remembering the look on his partner's face when he had touched her skin with his lips, and the blush that had heated her face just before. The nurse had interrupted his interrogation of her, and he could tell that just before the nurse had appeared that she was extremely flustered and struggling for a reply. Her mouth was opening and closing as she searched her extremely rational mind for a reason behind her outburst, one that wouldn't get her caught in a lie. Temperance Brennan never lied, not when it mattered.

The kiss had been just as much of a surprise to him as it had been for her. Her outburst hadn't really told him anything that he hadn't already known. He knew that she was a living, breathing, desirable, intelligent woman. He had noticed, how could he not have? He worked very closely with her day after day, week after week, she was always there… but to hear those words come out of her mouth so intense, so loud, passionate, so… accidental? Would that be considered to be a Freudian slip? He chuckled to himself at the pain she would inflict on him if he had said 'that' to her. She vehemently disliked psychology, so to even utter those words across a table at her would cause him unimaginable pain.

He tipped his head back for a moment, glancing to the door again as he sighed, again wishing that he was on the other side of it with her. He figured though that she could stand to ruminate over the words he had spoken just before she had been whisked away into the exam room. She would need to analyze every word, the tone, the touches, the implications, the effects, the things affected, the past, the present, the future. His words weren't spoken in anger or in pain. His words were honest and clear headed, and she would have to deal with them in her own time, in her own mind, in her own way. He would just have to wait to see, and it appeared that a hospital waiting room was the perfect place to do such things. There was a lot of waiting.

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Brennan was wheeled into the exam room and she could feel the heat in her cheeks that didn't seem to want to disappear. The spot, right beside her ear was burning… not physically burning, but there was a pressure there that made her afraid to move her head, and for a moment she thought that if she moved, it'd be gone. The nurse was talking, and for the first twenty seconds or so, she really couldn't focus on anything other than what Booth had spoken to her moments before. She had no explanation, his flirting had been obvious the night before, the incident with the pie, and she had no one to blame but herself for the incident in the living room. She was the one that had instigated the argument, she was the one that had flown off the handle, and she was the one that for some unexplainable reason decided to show her frustration by slamming her right foot into the leg of the coffee table.

She couldn't concentrate on the nurse just yet, her mind continued to go back to the incident that got her here. It hadn't hurt at first, and it felt quite satisfying for a split second as she watched it sail past her partner's head, slamming into the bookcase behind him. Things kind of became a bit blurry after that point in her memory, because as she stood and stared into her partner's shocked expression, she suddenly realized what she had done. Her words had come slipping from her mouth faster than she could think them, the expression on her face had been full of anger and wrath as she clenched her fists and shouted word after rage induced word and the exclamation point on that argument had just landed at full speed in the bookcase behind him. Which was why she had turned and run as quickly as she could into her bedroom. His reaction was the last thing she wanted to see.

She had slammed the door closed, locking it in one motion and launched herself onto her bed, knowing full well that it was a bad idea. The searing pain in her foot was extending up her leg and was shooting off fireworks in her head as she lifted her knee to her chest and gripped it tightly, squeezing her eyes closed as she held her breath. She tried desperately not to release the sob in her throat, the pain excruciating as she held her breath, feeling her skin begin to stretch already from the swelling. She then had pushed her face into her pillow, wanting to scream from the pain as her mouth opened and nothing came out but breath as she tried to make the white spots in her vision disappear, her eyes moving to her foot as she noticed that her toes weren't exactly pointing in the same direction that they had been that morning. That was the moment, however, that she heard the soft knocking of her partner, and the concern in his voice as he called her. It was that moment that she had remembered what she had screamed at him, what she had admitted to him, it was then that the excruciating pain she was now feeling in her foot… didn't feel so bad.

The doctor's voice shook her from her memory, as she looked up into the green eyes of a young man not much older than thirty. His lab coat was clean and crisp, and his dark hair was not short, but not long, curls hanging over his ears as he smiled at her. "Doctor Temperance Brennan?" He said with a smile as he tilted his head. "The author?" He asked as he watched a look of confusion pass over her face for a moment as if she weren't sure what he had said.

"Yes." She said as she shook her head, the confusion in her eyes seemingly disappearing as she just looked at him. "Can I get this x-rayed and bandaged so that I can get out of here?" She asked quickly, looking up at the doctor in slight desperation as she waited for the reply.

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Booth sat waiting for what felt like forever, his feet moving slightly as he held his bandaged hand in his right hand, looking it over as he waited. He had just realized how haphazardly he had wrapped the bandage around, small dots of blood were seeping through, and he knew that he probably should get it rewrapped. Looking up, he saw the nurse behind the counter typing on her computer, and figured that now would be as good a time as any to ask for some fresh bandages.

He stood up, stretching his legs as he walked over toward the counter, smiling a charming smile her way as she returned the smile. "Excuse me." He said, leaning slightly on the counter as he watched her head tilt. She was blonde and pretty, though she looked a little tired, and maybe slightly annoyed at the interruption. "I had a bit of an accident earlier… just some cuts on my hand… and I was wondering if I could get some fresh bandages for it?" He asked, holding up his hand as a piece of gauze hung loosely, the tape that he had used rolled and falling off.

"Of course." She said with a smile as she rolled her chair out. "Just give me one minute." She said as Booth smiled and stood up straight, taking a step back as he glanced around at the now empty waiting room. He checked the clock, squinting slightly to see if the time he was seeing was correct, nearly three o'clock in the morning. He sighed as he thought of Brennan having been in the exam room, getting x-rays and everything taking over two hours, he rolled his eyes. He turned just as the door opened into the waiting room and he half expected Bones to be rolled out, but wasn't at all surprised to see that it was just the nurse, holding the door open for him.

"Why don't you come on back here… we'll take a look at your hand, and get it all bandaged up… Mr.…?" She said with a sweet smile as Booth smiled back and followed her into the hallway.

"Booth." He said as he sighed as he followed her to a small exam room just around the corner, looking down the hall to see if there was any sign of his partner. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know how my friend is doing, would you? Dr. Temperance Brennan…"

"Oh… she came back from x-ray a little bit ago. I think they're bandaging her foot right now." She said with a smile as she began to unwrap his hand.

"Is it broken?" He asked, watching as the nurse carefully looked over his hand as he watched her look up at him.

"Your hand?" She asked, giving him a confused look as he shook his head.

"No, no… my friend's foot… was her foot broken? Is she going to be alright?" He asked, slightly irritated by the airheaded response that the nurse was giving him. He wasn't sure if he was irritated because she couldn't figure it out, or because he was just exhausted.

"Is she your wife?" She asked nonchalantly as she began to carefully clean the cuts on his hand.

"No… she's my partner… is she alright?" He asked.

"Well…" She said softly. "She's going to be just fine. The doctor gave her some medication for the inflammation and the pain… but she'll be alright."

"But is it broken?" He asked again, starting to get irritated with the avoidance of his original question.

"I can't really talk to you about her condition, Mr. Booth. You'll have to wait a little longer to find out your friend's condition." She said as she began to carefully roll the gauze around his hand. "So how exactly did you say you hurt yourself?" She asked, trying to make conversation with the man, who seemed very preoccupied with his friend. His eyes lit up just a little as he watched someone being wheeled past the door in a wheelchair.

"I didn't." He said as he pulled his hand back and got up. He walked toward the doorway without a pause, looking around the corner, he glanced back. "Thanks for the bandage." He said as he walked out of the doorway and down the hallway, following after the wheelchair. He quickened his pace and jogged up behind the doctor as he talked to the person in the wheelchair, approaching the exit door to the waiting room. "Hey…" He said as the doctor turned around, surprised by the man tapping at his shoulder. "Hey, how is she?" He asked, looking down as he watched his partner look up at him.

"Hey!" Brennan exclaimed from the chair, her voice kind of loud as she turned and looked at her partner, and pointed at her foot. "You broke my foot." She said groggily as the Booth held out his hand to the doctor.

"Hey, Bones." Booth said a little out of breath as he held his hand out to the doctor. "Special Agent Seeley Booth…" He said as the doctor gave him a confused look as he shook his hand. "She's my partner." He stated matter-of-factly. "How is she doing? It's broken? She's going to be alright though, right… I mean, people break their feet all the time." He shrugged. "I mean… not… all the time, but it's happened, and she's good to go, right?"

"I'm sorry…" The doctor said as he shook his head. "Who are you?"

"I'm…" He paused as he glanced over to his partner again, her big blue eyes staring up at him with a goofy grin on her face. His eyes moved down to her foot, where she was bandaged with an ace bandage and a boot like contraption that went nearly to her knee. "Aw, Bones…" He said as he moved around the wheelchair and knelt in front of her, looking up at her as she reached down and grabbed for his hand.

"I'm so sleepy." She whispered, tipping her head as she looked him straight in the eyes, he could see that they were clouded from the painkillers. He looked up at the doctor and back to his partner, who reached for his hand. "Booth… let's go to bed." She whispered.

"I'll get you home soon… don't worry…" He said as he stood up and looked the doctor in the eyes. "Is she ready to go?" He asked as the doctor looked at Booth a bit discriminatingly. His eyes falling to his bandaged hand as he looked back up into his eyes. Booth noticed the quick glance to his hand and his disheveled appearance and immediately realized what it looked like. "Doc?"

"She… she, yeah… she's ready to go, she's going to need a ride, which I'm assuming that's what you're here for." He shrugged as Booth nodded. "She has a compound fracture in her…"

"Fourth and fifth metatarsal!" Bones exclaimed as she grinned. "What'd I tell you, Booth? You said I wasn't an expert… I'm the bones… doctor… I was right! Didn't I say that, Booth? Didn't I say that?" She exclaimed as Booth just smiled and looked down at her grin as he looked up at the doctor.

"Yeah Bones… you said that…" He said as he gave the doctor a confused look. "How much pain medication did you put her on?" He asked as he looked down at his partner who was scratching at the air cast.

"Ten milliongrams of oxycodone… with some other stuff… that isn't nearly as much fun." She said as she giggled a little bit making Booth smile a little.

"Her prescriptions are with her chart… she demanded to see the x-rays to make sure that we were correct. The air cast is used basically for mobility of the ankle. She's going to need to have it on for six to eight weeks, and stay off the foot as much as possible. She can move around on crutches, but should keep it elevated, ice therapy for the first forty-eight hours, and she's going to want to see her primary care provider for more pain medication, and to monitor her progress, but other than that, she's ready to go." He nodded as he handed the chart over to the nurse on the other side of the counter. "Doctor Brennan… it was a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure was all mine, Doctor Patrick." She said with a flirting smile that Booth didn't miss. The doctor held onto her hand for a bit longer than he felt comfortable with, and after another moment, he snatched the wheelchair from the doctor.

"Alright, Bones… time to go home…" He said as he swung her around and backed out of the door back into the waiting room.

"Oh! That almost rhymes, Booth…did you notice that?" She asked as he nodded his head and rolled his eyes as he walked to the counter to sign the paperwork and get her prescriptions. "Home and Bones… home bones… I'm taking you home bones… bones…"

"I did notice." Booth said as he nodded.

"Hey, Booth… you know what else I noticed?" She asked as he signed his name and grabbed the prescriptions. He turned and started to wheel her toward the door.

"What did you notice, Bones?" He asked, humoring her for the moment.

"I noticed that Doctor Patrick was very handsome...Hot…" She said with a giggle in her voice as the doors to the emergency room opened and he stepped through with the wheelchair. "Know what else I noticed?" She asked as he grunted his answer. "I noticed that you looked like you were going to punch him out when he shook my hand." She giggled as he shook his head.

"Let's just get you home, Bones…" He said softly as he pushed the wheelchair toward the SUV as he noticed she was slowly slipping into a pain killer induced sleep.

"I like you, Booth." She mumbled as he lifted her into the car and carefully buckled her in.

"I like you too, Bones…" He said softly, as he left a soft kiss on her forehead, and tipped the seat back slightly, as he closed the door and returned the wheelchair to the hospital lobby, before getting into the SUV, and bringing his Bones home.


	9. Interrogation

The first thing she noticed when she became cognizant, was the sun beating in from a window somewhere. Shining on her face, the warmth from the sun's rays was nice, comfortable, and completely not like a typical morning in her apartment. It was then that she realized that she wasn't in her apartment. Her eyes were still closed, her eyelids heavy with sleep, refusing to open, but her brain was starting to clear with her body that things didn't seem quite right. She moved her fingertips just slightly, listening for a familiar sound or smell, since her eyes were obviously not cooperating with her. Under her fingertips she felt a material that wasn't a bed, a couch? What had happened last night? She moved her tongue around in her mouth, trying to see if there was the taste of stale liquor on her breath. Finding none, she groaned softly as her forehead wrinkled in confusion.

She moved slightly, her shoulders, turned her head into the back of the couch as her face pressed slightly into the pillow. She ached. She breathed in deeply, the scent of laundry detergent, maybe a little bit of hair gel… familiar. She let out a slight groan as she turned her head again, when suddenly the phone rang on the table behind her head, making her jump. As soon as her body jumped, she felt a sharp pain shoot through her foot and run up her leg as her back arched in pain. She let out a loud shout as she rolled to her side, the pain not stopping, but only becoming worse as she rolled completely off the couch.

"Bones!" The floor exclaimed as she landed face down onto something not quite as hard as the floor, but not exactly a pillow either, as her eyes opened to find them staring straight into the eyes of her partner's.

"Booth!" She exclaimed, out of breath and in intense pain as she felt tears come to her eyes, watching as he just stared at her for a moment, seemingly trying to catch his breath. The phone was still ringing, yet it went unanswered. "What are… what… where?"

"Hey…" he said as he grunted slightly, moving to the side a little as he shook his head. "Your knee is in a very sensitive spot right now, Bones…" He said as he shifted slightly. "There ya go…" He said as he rolled her onto her side and started to stand up.

"What is going on?" She asked, rolling onto her back as she looked up at him with a confused expression, the pain in her foot was slightly less intense, but she was still very disoriented. She looked up at her partner, who was looking down at her on the floor with an incredibly amused expression on his face, her eyes moving to the bandage on his hand. "Booth, what happened to your hand? What's going… why is my…" She looked down at her foot and saw the air cast, her eyes widening as she took a deep breath. "I… what…"

"Thought it was a dream, huh?" He said as he stepped over her and crouched down, lifting her body from the floor tenderly, he placed her back on the couch. He moved to the end where he had propped up pillows for her foot, and straightened them out, lifting her foot with the boot on it carefully to the top of the pile. "I mean Bones… if you wanted to wake up on top of me, there are easier ways to do it." He said as he gave her a smirk, watching the confused expression on her face deepen.

"Huh?" She said, still obviously in a fog between the medicine and sleep. She watched as he glanced across the room at something, and looked down at her again. "What time is it?" She mumbled.

"It is ten thirty." He said, watching her eyes widen.

"Ten thirty? I have to…" She started to try to get up, watching as her partner leaned down over her for a moment, his hand touching her shoulder.

"Ten thirty on a Saturday…" He said as he lightly pushed her shoulder down, looking down on her with a tender smile, he shook his head. "You're not moving, Bones. Doctor's orders…"

"I have to get up." She said, reaching up to push against his chest slightly, noting that he didn't move an inch. "I have to… get… I have to go to the… I'm in my… what happened to your hand again?" She asked as she narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Why am I at your apartment? I remember…taking a bath and… my foot and a table… and…"

"You kicked me in the ribs and knocked me across your bathroom, Bones." He said as he held up his hand. "The mirror lost." He said as a look of realization came over her face.

"You kissed me! You kissed me at the hospital!" She exclaimed suddenly as she watched her partner stand up just a little straighter, a smirk playing about the corner of his lips as he watched her, shaking his head. "What?"

"Nothing…" He chuckled. "I'm just trying to figure out your train of thought here." He said as he laughed. "They really knocked you out this morning."

"Why am I at your apartment? Why didn't you bring me home?" She asked suspiciously as she watched him stand up straighter, no longer leaning on the couch.

"My place was closer." He shrugged.

_Logical._

"Why were you sleeping on the floor?" She asked, scrutinizing him with her eyes, trying to find any reason for her to be upset with him.

"I put you on the couch… and you told me not to leave… you said that you felt like you were going to be sick, and that you wanted me to be there to help you."

_Logical again._

"Why did you kiss me?" She asked, watching that smirk playing at the corner of his lips again.

"Are you hungry? You're probably starving." He said as he walked back around the other side of the couch.

"Booth!" She exclaimed.

"I know I am…" he said as he walked toward the kitchen, opening the refrigerator he glanced to the couch as he watched her trying to sit up and look over the back of the couch at him. "Pancakes? Waffles? What are you in the mood for?" He asked, ignoring her irritated plea.

"Booth, stop avoiding!" She exclaimed.

"Waffles it is!" He said as he reached over to the counter and grabbed the pill bottle that the doctor had given him at the emergency room with one or two pills of pain medication to get them through until they got the prescription filled. "Here…" He said, tossing them across the room and over the couch, hearing the rattle of the pill bottle as they landed on his partner. "Take a few of these… you're more fun when you're drugged up." He teased as he started to get things ready for breakfast. He was just pulling the milk from the refrigerator, when the pill bottle whizzed by his head, making him laugh as it hit the counter beside him, sliding into the sink. "She shoots, she scores!" He said, as the only response he got in return, was an incoherent mumble from the couch, which he was sure wasn't very nice.


	10. Drooling

Booth began making breakfast, his eyes moving from the couch back to the waffle maker again and again. He brewed a pot of coffee, carefully pouring both he and Brennan a cup, setting it on the tray on the counter. He continued his cooking vigil, glancing occasionally to the couch, where after several minutes he saw the top of his partner's head, and her eyes peeking over the back of the couch. "What are you doing?" She asked in a sleepy tone, a yawn still on her lips as, her eyes grew curious as he gave her a sideways glance and smirked, shaking his head.

"I told you what I'm doing, I'm making waffles." He said as she shifted again, peeking her eyes just a little more over the couch, her hand holding her in place as she stared at him with wide eyes. "What's wrong, Bones?" He asked, watching a bit of uncertainty in her eyes.

"Nothing." She said as she turned, leaning back down on the pillow, staring at her foot. "It hurts." She sighed as she stared at the boot.

"Well, you hurt it pretty badly." He said, trying to avoid the incident that actually caused the injury. "The doctor said it was a compound fracture, but I didn't see any bone sticking out, Bones." He said with a shrug as she turned and looked back at him, just her eyes peeking over the couch. "That's what a compound fracture is, isn't it?" He asked, watching her nod her head.

"That's correct." She said softly. "It was just… under the skin, and when they were doing the x-ray… it kind of…"

"Okay, okay…" He said as he shook his head and shuddered. "We can skip the blood and gore for now." He said as she sat up just a little more.

"Booth, we work with blood and gore for a living." She stated. "It really shouldn't bother you as much anymore, I mean statistically people who work with…" She began to go on as she watched him roll his eyes. "Fine… you don't want to listen… I don't have to talk to you anymore." She said as she flopped back on her pillow for a moment. The movement caused movement in her leg and she let out a little bit of a yelp.

"Did you take the pain medication?" He asked as he waited for the answer. He paused. "Bones?"

"No." She said with a sigh. "I don't need pain medication." She said as she turned and looked toward him again, her eyes filled with tears from the pain from jostling her foot a bit.

Booth looked up and saw the tears, though he chose not to say anything. The only think worse than his partner showing her vulnerability was someone pointing it out. "We'll get some ice on it." Booth said as he pulled a waffle from the waffle iron and tossed it onto a plate. "Put some ice on it… and if you decide if you want the pain medication, you can have it." He said with a sigh. "The doctor at the emergency room… Doctor Patrick…" he said in an irritated tone, glancing to Bones to see if she'd say anything. When she didn't, he continued. "He said that you're going to have to see your primary care provider… see if you need a hard cast or anything." He shrugged.

"Doctor Patrick?" She said his name as if it sounded familiar.

"Yeah." He said as he glanced over to the couch, noting that her eyes were still peeking over the back of it.

"As I recall." She said, as a bit of a smile moved into her eyes, he didn't miss the sparkle in them as she held her eyes with his. "He was quite attractive." She said as she sat back on the pillow as soon as she saw his jaw drop slightly.

"Hey… that is not nice!" He exclaimed as he put the plate with the waffles on a tray. "How do you even remember him? You were so doped up last night, you couldn't even keep the drool in your mouth." He said as her eyes appeared again, this time narrowed.

"Drooling is a natural response to muscle relaxers and pain killers, Booth." She said as she sat back on the pillow again, sighing. "It's only natural that saliva would escape my mouth unknowingly. I was obviously under the influence of heavy narcotics." She rambled as she tried to appear clinical, though her defense was razor thin.

"So…" He said as he walked toward her with the tray, watching her as she stared at her foot. "You're saying the drugs were why you were drooling, huh? Not the good looking young doctor who was coming onto you?" He asked innocently as he watched her eyes narrow in a wider smile.

"I didn't say that." She said with a slight laugh.

"You also don't deny that you were drooling?" He asked as she let out a scoff at his questioning, shaking her head as she refused to answer. He set the tray on the coffee table and turned to her as she lay on her back, her foot propped up as she glared at him.

"I don't recall drooling." She replied as she watched him looking down on her. He bent closer to her and came face to face with her, a smirk adorning his lips as his eyes sparkled at her.

"Put your arms around the back of my neck." He said as she gave him a confused expression.

"Why?"

"Just do it, I'm going to pull you up into a sitting position… arms… neck… come on… don't be shy." He said as he watched her blush slightly before she reached her arms up and wrapped them around the back of his neck, holding his shoulders tightly as he pulled her up, repositioned the pillow and leaned her back carefully. "Alright…" He said as he glanced to make sure she was sitting upright, finding that she still had her arms wrapped securely around his neck, holding tightly. "Bones?" He said as he felt her loosen her grip slightly, but still holding on as she came face to face with him. "You're sitting." He said, giving her a sheepish smirk as she sent her bottom lip into her mouth, her teeth clamping down on it slightly as she nodded.

"Uh huh…" She said, watching his eyes sparkle slightly as she smiled at him.

"Your breakfast is getting cold." He replied, still waiting for her to either make a move, or let him go, watching he indecision in her eyes. "Bones?" He whispered again, watching her expression become intense, serious and there was just a flash of something else. Uncertainty? Confusion? Need? Want? Desire? What was it? He was so good at reading people, so good at seeing through the lies and red tape. And with Brennan, he had always had a problem, because there wasn't usually much to read. 'What you see is what you get.' He once said, unsure exactly of his meaning until this exact moment. Temperance Brennan was exactly what was advertised. She was a gorgeous, intelligent, witty, sarcastic, infuriatingly transparent human being. She never lied, for she hated liars. She didn't cheat, at least what she deemed to be 'cheating', and she never, ever backed down. But what he was seeing in her eyes at this moment was so unfamiliar, that Booth had no idea what to do next. "You're drooling, Bones?" he whispered, as he watched her eyes widen, her hands slipping from his neck now ad he watched her carefully, standing up. She rubbed her face with her arm, feeling no drool coming out of her mouth, she glared up at Booth as he chuckled. He glanced to the waffles and the coffee on the tray, and smiled over at his partner. "Waffles… with a touch of syrup… and a steaming hot cup of coffee, just the way you like it." He said with a smile as he set the tray on her lap carefully, pulling her cup from the tray.

She slowly brought the cup to her nose and smiled up at him, her eyes looking directly into his. "Mmm…" She groaned slightly, her eyes shifting down to his chest, and his arms, then back up to his chocolate brown eyes as her smile turned just a bit more devilish. "Hot…" She said, hiding a smirk behind the cup as she looked down at the dark liquid in the cup.

"I…" He stammered for a moment as he watched her look up at him again. "I'm going to go get you some ice for your foot." He said as he turned sharply on his heel, and rushed toward the kitchen, swearing for a moment that he heard his partner giggle.


	11. Stubborn

Brennan sat on the couch, her gaze focused on her foot as she felt the pain becoming slightly worse. She sipped at her coffee, and slowly devoured the waffles that had been prepared for her, sprinkled with just a little cinnamon for added flavor, she hadn't missed Booth's sudden attempt at making the waffles just a little more appealing to her palette. She was so focused on her foot, and the heavenly taste of the waffles, that she was startled when she heard his voice behind him.

"So you like them?" Booth said, watching as she jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. He had felt bad for startling her, but when she looked up at him, the blush in her cheeks made it all the more worthwhile.

"Like them?" She asked as she tried to figure out for a moment what he was talking about.

"Waffles, Bones… you like the waffles?"

"Oh." She said, turning her face toward the plate as she took another forkful and lifted it to her lips. "They're good." She shrugged as she shoved the waffle greedily into her mouth, watching as his hand came into her line of sight. The hand held a plastic bag, haphazardly covered by a hand cloth.

"Booth, I…"

"When your finished eating, I'll help you with the cast, and putting the ice on your foot. Do you want the pain medication?" He asked, watching her for a moment as she shook her head.

"I don't need pain medication, Booth. I told you… it impairs my judgment, makes me feel vulnerable and…"

"Pain free." Booth rolled his eyes. "If it helps take away the pain, and that's what you need, then you need to take the medicine, Bones. Stop making excuses for taking medication that you're afraid are going to take away you inhibitions and turn you into a giggly scientist." He said as she glared at him.

"Scientists don't giggle." She said, taking another bit of waffle, avoiding eye contact, watching out of the corner of her eye as he tossed the ice pack onto the table and turned back toward the kitchen. "Hey, where are you going?" She asked as she looked to her side, seeing him walking with his back to her.

"Just cleaning up." He shrugged. "Eat up…" He said, turning around, pulling the pill bottle from the sink, he set it on the counter and pulled a cup from the cupboard and poured water into it. He paused for a moment as he turned around, glancing to the couch, he saw her head move quickly, to hide the fact that she had been watching him. He smirked slightly as he walked toward her with the pill bottle and the glass of water. He reached the couch and set them on the tray on the table and watched as she lifted her eyes to him, ready for a fight. "Bones." He said as he held a finger up to stop her retort. "It's just in case." He said softly. "It hurts, I know it hurts… and its swollen…"

"I want to have a clear head." She replied as she shoved the last bit of waffle into her mouth and watched him carefully. He stood above her and she could see that there was a small hint of a smirk on his lips. "What?" She mumbled as she swallowed that last bit of waffle.

"Are you done?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as she wrinkled her brow in slight confusion.

"Done?"

"With your waffles, Bones." He said as his smirk turned into a smile. "You are so distracted." He said as he watched her blush once again, lifting the plate for him to take from her, she put her head back on the pillow and glanced to him as he smiled softly and disappeared around the couch. She found her eyes closing for a moment, and after that moment, there was a bit of pressure on her foot. She could hear the cast being carefully removed, and she kept her eyes closed, knowing that there would be pain.

"This doctor did a really crappy job wrapping your foot, Bones." He said, looking down at the bits of blood that had seeped through her ace bandage.

"Well, he was twelve." She mumbled under her breath as she felt him carefully lift her foot and place the ice pack on the obviously swollen half of her foot. Booth was surprised to hear such an irritated expression from his partner. Normally, he was the first one to make a sarcastic comment like that. He looked up and watched her eyes moving beneath her eyelids, a hint of a tear at the corner of her eye, he could tell she was in a lot of pain.

"Bones, take the oxycodone." He said, watching her eyes open slowly.

"No." She shook her head. "I… I don't… I don't like narcotics." She replied.

"Bones, please? Its killing me here, seeing you in this much pain." He said, watching her give him a glare.

"Your propensity for hyperbole is overwhelming." She said in a serious tone, watching Booth's smirk disappear for a second.

"You know, Bones… you're the one that kicked the table. I'm just trying to be a good friend here… trying to help you stop hurting. I mean, what were you thinking?" He asked as she glared at him.

"I don't remember." She said as she reached for the pill bottle and the cup of water.

"Hey, hey…" he said as he reached over her to grab the bottle from her hand. "You can't just take those to get me to leave you alone." He said as she opened the bottle out of his reach and let the pill fall into her hand.

"Bones… don't…" He said as she glared and popped the pill into her mouth, quickly drinking down the glass of water as she watched him smirk suddenly.

"What?" She said innocently, watching as his smile widened.

"Got you to take it." He said with a laugh as she lifted the glass up as if she were going to throw it. "No… no no…" he said as he stood up suddenly and moved toward her, grabbing the glass out of her hand. "I think between you and I, we've broken enough stuff in the past twenty four hours… between your mirror and your table… your foot." He shrugged.

"You infuriate me." She mumbled as she watched him walk around the couch with the glass, over to the kitchen, where he put it in the dishwasher, and watched her crystal blue eyes as they stared at him over the couch. "I want to go home." She said as he turned to face her, a slight look of disappointment in his eyes as he glanced toward the door, and back to her again.

"Go home then." He shrugged. "But you can't take my car… and you can't walk… and you probably won't make it to the stairs before you pass out from taking your 'spite' pill." He said as he watched her eyes narrow again. They stared at one another for several minutes, daring the other to speak.

"I don't want to be here anymore!" She exclaimed angrily as Booth shook his head.

"Listen." He said as he started to walk across the room toward her. He knelt right behind the couch, their eyes facing off at one another as he listened to her swallow hard. "I'm going to go in and take a shower… get dressed… When I'm done, I'll come back out here… and if you're awake, I'll take you home. If you're sleeping… you're staying here, and I'm going to go out and get your prescriptions filled, and pick some stuff up at your place, got it, Bones?" He said, watching her eyelids already start to droop from the reaction to painkillers.

"You promise?" She asked, her voice all but a mumble as she watched him smile a crooked smile.

"I promise…" He said as he moved around to the front of the couch and crouched beside her. "Here… arms around my neck again…you need to lay down." He said softly.

"But you're just trying to get me to go to sleep… you're cheating." She mumbled.

"I'm not cheating… arms… come on…" he said as he felt her arms wrap around his neck, a bit more loosely than the first time. He very carefully used her leverage to lift her slightly, sliding her into a lying position, he fixed the pillow. "There you go, Bones… nice and comfortable." He said in a soft voice as he felt his partner's hands give way from around his neck, without another sound from her lips. He turned his head to look at her face, finding that her eyes were closed, and her breathing was regulated. He glanced over at her foot, resting atop a pile of pillows, the ice propped against it. He glanced back to his partner and smiled as a sleepy smile appeared on her face. "Looks like I win this round, Temperance." He said with a slight chuckle, as he leaned down and kissed her lips tenderly before standing up, covering her with a blanket and making his way to the bathroom for his shower.


	12. Round Two

**Hi everyone! i'm looking for two comments here from those of you that comment... You know... Comment one is reserved for those of you who wish to mention Booth in his towel... Comment two... is for whatever other part you liked in this update... lol. Haha... i'm needy, i know... But even one comment is good enough for me ;) Enjoy.**

**-------**

Booth let the hot water from the shower envelop him for a few moments, his mind on the warm water slamming into his face and not the stinging sensation coming from the multiple cuts on his hand as he ran his hand over his face and through his hair. He continued his shower, his thoughts trying to focus on the list of things he had to do in the next few hours, and not on the woman lying on his couch, though as soon as he attempted not to think of her, he did. Bones would have some kind of theory about that, something about human cognitive thinking and how trying to force yourself not to think of something always makes you think of it.

There it goes again. He reached over and turned the knob on the shower, sending spikes of cold water onto his skin. Lifting his face into the stream of cold water, he sighed in frustration as he reached over and turned the water off, leaning against the wall for a moment, he felt the cold sting of the tile against his skin and lifted his eyes to the ceiling for a moment as if he were waiting for some sort of sign, or answer to the questions that were plaguing his mind at the moment. He stepped out of the shower, grabbing the towel from the towel rack, he wrapped it around his waist tightly, rubbing his head with a second towel as he reached for the bathrobe on the back of the door, when he heard a loud crash coming from another room. Without thinking or caring of his current state of near nudity, he grabbed the doorknob and yanked the door opened, running through his apartment toward the living room area.

He ran toward the couch without another thought other than for the woman lying face down on the ground groaning in pain, her foot dangling in the air as he pushed the coffee table halfway across the room, slamming it into the television stand as he rolled her into his arms. "Bones… for God's sake, what are you doing?" He exclaimed as she looked up at him with glassy eyes, her eyes filled with tears as she whimpered.

"It doesn't hurt much. I was thirsty…" She said as tears rolled down her cheeks. "What happened?" She asked as she glanced to the couch unseeing and wobbly.

"Bones… you fell off the couch…" He said as he carefully tucked the hair in her face behind her ear, watching her look up at him and stare as the tears rolled down her cheeks. "Are you okay?" He asked as she stared at him.

"I'm… you're naked." She whispered, a smirk on her face now as she sniffled. "Did you know that?" She whispered as he looked down at his bare chest, the water droplets still fresh on his skin as he realized he was only in his towel.

"I'm not naked…" He replied as she pushed her head into his chest as he held her, glancing to her foot, the bandage dangling off, the ice having fallen onto the floor, the cast lying halfway across the floor with the table and the tray that he had pushed away in order to get to her.

"Mm… you smell soapy, Booth…" She mumbled against his skin as he felt goosebumps rise on his flesh, he swallowed hard as he watched his partner cuddle into him in her drug induced haze. "You know, I never really understood the phrase 'clean as a whistle'…" She babbled as she looked up at him, the tears still present, but distracted by her constant stream of thoughts. "Whistles by nature go into your mouth, and therefore they'd be full of bacteria and saliva… I don't think whistles are clean at all, I think that's wrong, Booth… what do you think?" She asked as she looked up at him innocently.

"I think I'm moving you to the bed, Bones." He said as he shifted slightly as he carefully stood up, his partner comfortably nestled in his arms as she stared at him again.

"I can't sleep in your bed, Booth…I shouldn't…" She shook her head as he ignored her protests and carried her toward the bedroom. "Booth… no…" She mumbled.

"What's wrong with sleeping in my bed, huh? You're toasted, Bones. You won't know the difference." He said softly.

"Mmm… toast…" She said, licking her lips as he rolled his eyes and carried her into the bedroom, glancing to the mess of sheets on his bed, he held her carefully and lay her atop them. "Booth… what would you do if I grabbed your towel?" She asked as she continued licking her lips.

"Bones…" He groaned as he shook his head, watching her smile at him drunkenly, her eyes glazed over, her hand reaching for him, but misjudging how far away he actually was, finding herself just grasping in the air. "I'm going to go get dressed… you lay right there… no more rolling… just stay right there, and I'll get the bandage rewrapped and put the air cast on your foot… and then I'll go get the prescriptions filled." He said as she continued to grasp at the air, missing him completely. "That's enough, Bones." He said as he put his hand in hers and felt her squeeze it softly, cringing slightly as she squeezed his bad hand.

"Oh!" She exclaimed suddenly, noting the look if discomfort on Booth's face, she saw the cuts on his hand. "What happened to your hand?" She asked as she instantly looked guilty, letting go of his hand as he held it palm side out toward her and shook his head.

"I was attacked by a large cat." He said, smirking as her jaw dropped and she shook her head.

"You were not!" she exclaimed as he laughed at her reaction.

"I sure was…" He said as she shook her head and stared at him glassy eyed for a moment. "Stay there… let me get dressed… and I'll get you all ready for your big afternoon nap." He said as she nodded her head, watching him carefully as he moved across the room toward the dresser, pulling a t-shirt and jeans from within the drawer, he turned to see her watching. "It's not going to fall, Bones." He said as she smirked sleepily at him.

"A girl can hope." She said, her eyes closing, and a sly smirk spreading across her face as he disappeared back into the bathroom.

---------

About ten minutes later, Booth walked out of the bathroom dressed, his hand rebandaged and stepped into the bedroom. His partner lay sprawled across his bed, her mouth hanging open as she snored. He smirked at the always well dressed, presentable scientist in her most vulnerable state, and instantly felt guilty for chuckling at her misfortune. He walked into the dining room and gathered her cast and the pillows from the couch, then walked into the kitchen and found a water bottle and filled it with water. He then made his way back into the bedroom, finding his partner now lying on her side, her mouth still agape, and her eyes still closed.

He placed the items that he had brought into the room beside her on the table, and crawled onto the bed carefully. Pulling the pillows that he had brought with him, he carefully tugged her onto her back and put pillows on either side of her to prevent her from rolling too far. He then carefully lifted her head, tucking a pillow beneath it, she snorted a little bit and her eyes opened slightly.

"Hey." She whispered.

"Hey, sleepyhead." He said with a smile as she smiled one of those half smiles that made his heart skip a beat. "I'm going to rewrap your foot… put the cast on you, okay?" He said softly as she nodded her head sleepily. "Let me know if it hurts, okay?" He said as she nodded again, closing her eyes as Booth moved off the bed and back to her foot.

He carefully positioned himself so that he could sit on the bed, and wrap her foot. Very slowly, he removed the bandage that the doctor had put around her foot, slightly damp from the ice pack, he reminded himself to pick up some gel ice packs at the store. Very slowly, he unwrapped her foot, coming eventually to the light gauze that was covering the side of the foot, one or two stitches where it had been stitched, he looked at the blue and purple color of her skin and it nearly made him sick. He glanced up at her and noted that she had a peaceful look on her face as she slept soundly, the touch of his fingers on her skin eliciting no reaction, and he was thankful that it wasn't hurting her. He grabbed some clean bandages and very carefully wrapped the cuts with the gauze, then followed that with a fresh ace bandage, expertly bringing it around her foot, not too tightly as he watched her face the entire time. He then very carefully pulled the air cast around her foot, strapping it into place, he looked up again, to see two blue eyes staring at him sleepily.

"You take good care of me." She said, her voice was strange to him, soft and almost childlike.

"You're my partner." He said with a smile, watching her cheeks flush slightly.

"Mmm…" She said, smiling.

"And… you're my best friend." He said as he reached over and grabbed a few pillows from beside the bed, he slipped from the bed and very carefully lifted her foot, and slid the pillows beneath it, laying it very tenderly on top of the pile, he watched as her eyes slipped closed again. He stepped over to his sheets, and very carefully pulled one from the bottom of the bed, tugging it out from where it was tucked at the end, and spread it over his partner delicately. He watched as she lay peacefully, her mouth closed, the look on her face was one of sweet surrender. "Sleep well, Temperance." He whispered, as he leaned down carefully to leave a kiss on her lips. Just when he was about to set his lips delicately on hers, her eyes opened wide, and he stopped, his eyes widening.

"Don't call me Temperance." She said, the laughter in her eyes was unmistakable as she watched her partner jump back suddenly. She let out a giggle and shook her head. "Round two goes to me, Boothie!" She said softly as he gave her a shocked expression with a hint of humor.

"You think you're so cute." He said as he laughed, taking a step back as she yawned.

"So do you." She said, as he took another step back and chuckled.

"Get some rest, Bones…" He said softly as he smiled at his partner and turned to leave.

"Mmm…" She said softly, as she sighed, falling asleep again to the soft clicking of the door closing.


	13. Ringing

A loud ringing was slamming into her eardrums, ring, after ring, after ring. Brennan swatted to her left side, hoping to make the ringing stop, hoping that whatever was making that horrible noise would stop. She turned her head, burying it in the soft pillow beneath her head, a waft of cologne invaded her senses. It was a familiar scent, a comforting scent that made her feel warm and protected. It was Booth's scent. "Mmm…" She groaned, feeling heavy and groggy, breathing deeply again she took that scent into her senses one more. "Booth…?" She mumbled as her body refused to wake up, her mind refused to open any farther than to say his name, any farther to realize where she was.

But, where was she?

Her eyes opened slowly, revealing a set of light grey sheets that were covering her body, a soft pillow beneath her head, and the late afternoon sun shining in through the window at an angle she wasn't familiar with seeing in her own place. That's because she wasn't at her own place. Where was she? She breathed in deeply, and remembered. Booth's apartment, but why? She started to roll over, feeling the boot on her foot, she looked down to see it propped on the pillow, feeling an aching pain throbbing from it, and promptly remembered why she was here. She glanced to the clock, its green numbers exclaiming the late afternoon time. It was nearly five in the evening, and she had hardly moved from this spot since Booth had left. Booth had left for what? "Booth?" She called out, or so she thought she was calling out, her voice laced with sleepiness and her body filled with an achy feeling that she couldn't get over. "Booth, are you here?" She called as she waited for an answer, hearing nothing. "I'm thirsty…" She mumbled as she tried to sit up, only falling back down on the pillow, she glanced to her side and noticed the water bottle that was placed on the edge of the table, just within reach. She found a smile creeping up her lips at the sight of the bottle, and reached for it carefully. She very slowly opened the cap and managed to push the bottle to her lips with minimal spillage on herself or the bed, drinking down gulp after gulp of water. She replaced the cap and put the bottle back on the table. She then lay back down, staring at the ceiling for a moment as she felt another wave of sleepiness come over her.

She jumped at the sound of the ringing. The telephone. That's what had woken her up, it was the telephone. She turned her head and moved her arm, reaching for the cradle where the telephone sits; she lifted it from where it was and brought it to her ear. "Seeley Booth's phone…" She mumbled into the line, not sure if she had actually said what she thought she had said, but listened all the same.

"Bren?" The person's voice over the line said incredulously as she waited for a reply.

Bones found her brain to be slightly scrambled, confused. She wasn't sure who she was talking to, but she knew their voice was very familiar, someone she should recognize. "Huh?" She said confusedly.

"Bren, is that you? Sweetie?" Angela's voice was obviously concerned. "I've been trying to call you all morning! Where have you been? Why are you answering Booth's phone? Are you alright?"

"I…Angela…?" She said as she tried to form a coherent thought. "I'm right… here in Booth's bed…" She said, knowing that what she had said wasn't going to sound right, but at the same time, unable to correct herself before it had come out of her lips.

"You're in Booth's bed? Sweetie, are you okay? Where is Booth?" she asked, the concern in her voice was overwhelming.

"He went to go get me drugs, I think… drugs and… to get dressed, he was naked and then he carried me into the bedroom, and I was asleep and he left. Angela?" She said, still trying to clear her mind. "Booth isn't here… you can call him later if you want to." She said as she waited for her friend to reply. There was a very, very long pause.

"So you're at Booth's place…?" She said, trying to get her facts straight.

"He brought me here last night after my bath went bad… and… I'm sleepy, Angela… I'll talk to you later."

"Bren…" Angela said as she tried to interrupt.

"Bye." Bones said one more time as she pressed the off button on the phone and set it beside her. Just as she started to drift off, the phone began to ring again. She grumbled as she grabbed for the receiver, lifting it to her ear, she pushed the button. "Angela, I'm sleepy… I'll call you later." She mumbled into the line.

"Bones?" Booth's voice sailed through the line, and seemingly snapped her out of her sleepy trance for a millisecond.

"Booth?" She said, her voice sounding extremely confused.

"Bones, are you alright? You're awake?"

"I think I am." She replied and paused.

"Funny." He said as she groaned a little into the line.

"What do you want, Booth? Between you and Angela, I'm never going to get any sleep." She muttered as she sighed.

"Angela called?" He asked, knowing how badly it would look to his partner's best friend if she had revealed anything about the past twenty four hours.

"I think so…" She mumbled. "Booth, where are you? Why aren't you here? The phone is annoying…" She said as she sighed.

"I was just calling to check in… to see if you were awake yet… I'm coming back now."

"Good." She said as she sighed. "Don't forget the ice cream." She said as she pushed the off button on the phone, and tossed it onto the ground, she closed her eyes with a self satisfied grin on her face, and fell back to sleep.


	14. Dessert Before Dinner

Brennan rolled softly to her side, her eyes closed as she thought she felt the tingle of something on her skin. She groaned softly as she moved, still enveloped in the pillows and sheets of the bed where she had been for most of the day. She felt it again, a tender touch, the heat of someone's fingertips across her skin. She opened her eyes slowly, finding the soft brown eyes of her partner looking down at her, the corners of his eyes lifted slightly as his lips curled into that sweet smirk that never failed to make her heart rate increase. She opened her mouth to say something, finding his soft finger lifting to her lips, a slight pressure on the tender lips of his partner, she could taste the salt on her lips as he moved his hand to her temple, gently rolling his finger across her skin, the feeling of electricity coursing through her body as it slowly trailed its way behind her ear, gently guiding the stray strands of dark hair that had found their way to the side of her face.

He was lying beside her, his hand propped up by his right arm, his eyes saying everything his lips wouldn't dare whisper. She could smell the scent of his cologne, a soapy clean smell that mixed with the musky masculine scent he tried so hard to hide, blending to perfection as they collided with her olfactory sensors. She found herself subconsciously licking her lips, her blue eyes staring into his smiling brown, wide with curiosity, her eyebrows raised in expectation, as she watched the corner of his lips turn up just a little more.

The hand on her temple had moved to just below her ear, his soft palms cradling her chin tenderly as her own lips curled, a half smile adorning her lips as she watched him tip slightly toward her. She could hear herself, a barely audible whimper escaped her lips as she felt his fingertips dancing across her neck, sending surges of electricity down the right side of her body as she shivered. Without warning or question, his lips were on her neck, his soft breath tickling her skin, his five o'clock shadow scratching only slightly as he brought his lips to her neck, following his fingertips in a game of chase as she surrendered to his lips. She could feel a low growl deep in her throat, her body pushing into his, the feel of his lips running across her skin was making her breathing ragged and erratic, it was setting her skin on fire, or so it felt. She wanted to moan his name, but nothing could be uttered, and the only sound she could hear was the sound of her own heart beating, and the only thing she could feel was his lips on her skin.

His fingertips and his lips trailed down her neck to the shoulder of her t-shirt, tiny kisses leaving behind a trail of sweet scented cologne that seemed to envelop her completely. Her arm lifted, resting on his waist as her fingers clenched the material of his shirt in her fist as she pushed his body into her, his fingers pulling at her t-shirt, revealing the tender flesh of her shoulder. She gripped his shirt tightly, pushing her body up as her lips found his neck, his strong arms encircling her as she felt her entire body reacting to his touch. Her skin was flush and hot against his, her growls were turning into purrs as he slowed, leaving a tiny trail of kisses along her jaw line, stopping as he came face to face with her.

"Booth?" She whispered, his name was on her lips, though she couldn't hear her voice say it but only in a whisper. His only response, however was a slow, meaningful tilt of his head as his lips finally lowered onto hers. His fingers lifted and entangled themselves in her long, dark hair, slipping across the tendrils passionately, releasing the flowery scent from her shampoo as it mixed with the scent of masculinity that had already overtaken her. Their tongues touched in a moment of passionate frenzy, as she heard him growl under his breath as she whimpered into his. She could feel his fingertips on the back of her head, leading her, guiding her, helping her to devour his lips, taste the salty sweetness that was his mouth.

He suckled on her tongue for a moment, just slightly, gently, as his lips moved from hers, as she protested with a slight whine, followed by a moan as he electrified her skin once again. "God." She moaned as she felt his lips on her neck, her hands grasping at his body, pulling him closer as he moved down her body, pulling her shirt off the other shoulder as she reached down and grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling it up as he moved down her body, kissing her, her hips moving against his body, shifting rhythmically as she felt his kisses against her skin, his hands moving to her sweatpants, his thumbs slipping beneath the waistband as he teased her with his tongue.

"I thought you didn't believe in God." He whispered against her skin as she reached down and dug her fingertips into his hair, both pulling and pushing at the same time as she begged for his lips on hers once more. She listened to his words, but the feelings that were coursing through her body refused to let her answer. She moved to her side as his head lifted to her mouth once more. "Bones, do you have to go to the bathroom?" His voice was not as sensual as it had been a moment before, and it caught her off guard. She tried to kiss his lips, but he now moved away from her, his eyes no longer filled with lust. "Bones?" He said, a bit more forcefully. "Hey, you in there, Bones?" He said again, as suddenly the wave of emotion that had been building came crashing to a halt, slamming at full speed into her as her eyes opened wide, finding her arms not around her partner, but around the pillow that had been beside her as she slept, and Booth's voice was not whispering sweet nothing's in her ear, but instead standing above her, a look of concern veiling the humor he found in the situation as he watched a look of shock pass over Brennan's face, her hands throwing the pillow to the side as if it had burned her, and her eyes looked up into his, pleading for some kind of cosmic 'out'. "Hey…" He said softly, as he watched her face turn a deep shade of red, as tears came to her eyes. She looked as if she would die from pure embarrassment. "Aw… Bones…" he said softly, running his thumb across her cheek as she squeezed her eyes tightly, waiting for the onslaught of jokes that thought were certain to be coming in her direction.

She sniffled.

He ran his finger over the tear that had escaped her eye, wetting his finger with the tiny droplet of salt water as he watched her lip go into her mouth, refusing to open her eyes. "Hey…" He said softly, not expecting her to open her eyes or even acknowledge him. "I got you some ice cream… like you asked." He whispered. "I also picked us up some dinner… I talked to Angela…I didn't tell her much, but she seemed to be satisfied with my answers." he said as she sniffled again, her eyes still very tightly closed, refusing to look him in the eyes. "Are you hungry, Bones?" He whispered, thinking that maybe 'yes' or 'no' questions would be the best bet. He waited for a moment, and he watched her nod her head quickly. "Do you want me to bring it in here?" He said as she nodded her head. "I'll bring it in here… and we'll watch some television and eat, okay?" He asked as she nodded, her eyes still closed as she still refused to look up. "I'll be right back." He said softly as he leaned over and kissed her forehead tenderly, swallowing hard when she flinched from his touch. He gently ran his thumb over the spot he had kissed her, and stood up, making his way toward the door.

Just as he was about to open the door, he heard his name whispered from the bed. "Booth?" She sounded so small and vulnerable as he turned to see her crystal blue eyes staring up at him. He gave her a supporting smile, tipping his head to say that he understood. "Thank you." She whispered, watching his smile brighten slightly.

"Aww, come on, Bones…" He said, a slight twinkle in his eye as he watched her swallow nervously. "I'm not going to let you starve." He said, knowing that she was thanking him for something completely different, his smile widened just a little more, as he watched her eyes clear quickly of her embarrassment, and a small smile to appear on her lips.


	15. Resistance is Futile

After a few minutes, Booth entered the room holding a bag with containers of Thai food. As soon as he stepped in though, he nearly dropped it when he noticed what Brennan was up to. She was sitting up on the edge of the bed, her left foot solidly on the floor as she attempted to push herself off the bed.

"Bones, what are you doing?" He exclaimed as he put the bag on the bedside table and moved around the bed as she held up her hand to him to stop him.

"Stop." She said as her eyes met his, her eyebrows were low in determination as she attempted to stand up, her hand still outward as Booth stood back to allow her to attempt to do what she was trying to do. "I don't need help, Booth." She said confidently, trying to balance herself.

"Bones, I can…" He said as he watched her attempt to balance on one foot as she pushed herself off the bed.

"No." She said stubbornly. "No, I have to move on my own…" She said as she felt her muscles fighting her. "I have been lying down enough today, I need to move around." She said as he reached for her. "No." She said, swatting at his hand, giving him a dirty look. "I can do this myself."

"Where are you going, Bones?" He asked, watching her slide the foot with the air cast forward, a look of concentration in her face as she put slight pressure on it. "Let me get you crutches or something…" He said as he turned for his closet. "Just… stay right there…"

"I can do fine on my own, Booth… I can hold onto the wall…"

"Where are you trying to go?" Booth said as he opened the door to the closet and started shifting things around.

"Bathroom, I have to get to the bathroom." She said as she turned to see him glance to her. "No… I've embarrassed myself enough today, and yesterday… I don't need you to be helping me with this." She said as he turned back toward the closet as she clung to the wall, her bad foot slightly in the air as she hopped. "I can do this." She said, determined, cringing with each hop.

"Bones, if you don't get to the bathroom, you're going to go to wet yourself, and you're going to have a whole lot of new problems." He said as she looked up at him and glared. "Sorry." He said as he watched her shift along the wall toward the door. "I found the crutches." He said as she looked over at him.

"I don't need them." She said as she shifted herself toward the door.

"Aw, come on, Bones…" he said as he approached her quickly. "Use the crutches… stop being stubborn."

"I don't want to use the crutches, I can do this on my own!" She exclaimed stubbornly as she swatted at him while trying to balance herself on the doorway, her foot aching, feeling enormous in the air cast as she swatted at her partner one more time.

"Use the crutches, Bones. I'm tellin' ya." He said as she reached over to push him away from her, only to lose her balance. She started to fall around the door jamb, when he grabbed her around the waist, swinging her around, he held her for a moment as he she kind of hung about two feet from the ground, her legs having given in. "You okay?" He asked as she growled in frustration.

"Just let me go, Booth. I can do this myself!" She exclaimed as he suddenly let her go, dropping her to the floor the two feet that she had been hanging, she landed hard and yelped in pain as she looked up at him. "You let go of me!" She exclaimed as he shook his head. He wasn't laughing though, his eyebrows arched in frustration.

"You told me to let go of you!" He exclaimed as she pushed him with her hands when he tried to help her again.

"Just let me go! Just go away and let me go!" She exclaimed as he tried to help her off the floor, her arms flailing as she tried to move away from him. "Booth, I'm serious! If you don't let go, I'm going to bite you!"

"Bite me, I dare you!" He exclaimed with an irritated tone.

"Am I interrupting something?" A very humored voice interrupted the tirade in the doorway as both Booth and Brennan looked up to see a very humored Angela standing several feet away, her arms crossed over her chest as she tried not to grin at the struggling couple as they argued.


	16. Code Cracking

Booth very gently let his partner onto the floor, her glare was icy and angry as she looked at him for a moment, softening as she looked to her friend. "Angela." She said, not sure if she should be happy or incredibly embarrassed. She felt her partner take a step back, his eyes across the room at Angela as she shook her head and just smirked for a minute before approaching them.

"What are you doing to her?" Angela asked as she got to Brennan, reaching down for her arm, Booth stepped forward to help Angela pull the woman to her feet, while she leaned against the wall.

"She has to go to the…" Booth started to say as Brennan turned and glared at him, stopping his words as his eyebrows shot up in innocence.

"I was on my way to the bathroom, and he insisted on forcing me to use crutches." She said with an irritated growl as she glared at Booth once again.

"I was just trying to help. She fell on the way out of the bedroom, and I was just helping her up." He said innocently as Brennan glared again.

"He dropped me! He dropped me on the floor! How is that helping? If he wants to help me, he can leave me alone and let me do this on my own." She said angrily, Angela's head moving between the two of them as they bickered. The tension was mounting quickly, and she knew that she needed to get her best friend away from her partner before there was more than just a broken foot between the two of them.

"Here, Sweetie…" Angela said, taking the crutches from the floor in the doorway and handing them to her friend as she watched her take them and start shifting toward the bathroom.

"Oh, I see… so you'll take them from Angela, but you won't take them from me?" Booth said with an insulted tone in his voice, shutting up as soon as Angela gave him a glare. "What?" he said as she shook her head and followed Brennan into the bathroom.

As soon as they were out of sight of Booth, Angela turned to her friend. "So what's going on, Bren. Spill… the broken foot, the arguing, the wrestling… the sleeping in his bed… don't think I didn't see the bandage on Booth's hand."

"Nothing is going on, Angela." She said as she paused, shaking her head. "Simple explanations for all of it… I… hit my foot on the table in my apartment last night… and Booth took me to the hospital. He put me on his bed because I was on oxycodone and rolled off the couch this morning." She said as she stood awkwardly against the crutches.

"And the wrestling?" Angela asked, her hands on her hips as she tried not to smile.

"That was not wrestling, Ange." She said in her defense. "He was… being unreasonable." She said as she shook her head, her eyes avoiding Angela's as she explained. "He was being… pushy and… uncooperative, and when I told him to let me go, he dropped me on the floor." She said as she glanced at Angela. "I… have to go to the bathroom." She said as she sighed.

"You can do this part on your own?" Angela asked, watching her friend nod.

"I think I can handle it from here." She said with a sigh, watching Angela raise her eyebrow as she nodded.

"I'll be right outside the door." She said, watching Brennan nod as she stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door behind her. When she looked up, she immediately spotted the sheepish look on the face of the man standing in the bedroom doorway. He hadn't moved an inch since Angela and Brennan had stepped into the bathroom, and from the look of it, he had no idea what to do at this point.

"Why are you here?" He asked, a smirk on his face, though she could tell by the way he was standing that he was actually being quite a bit defensive.

"I came to check on Bren." She said, nodding toward the bathroom. "Obviously. You really shouldn't leave your door unlocked in this neighborhood." She said as Booth gave her an irritated look.

"This is a great neighborhood." He protested.

"You live above a liquor store, Booth… its not exactly screaming 'family man'." She said as he rolled his eyes.

"Is she okay?" He asked, his voice showing genuine concern.

"What do you think?" The rhetorical question slipping off her tongue before she could think, and she knew as soon as she said it that she probably shouldn't have.

"Angela, I didn't mean to…"

"Booth… she'll be fine…" Angela shrugged. "Now what happened to your hand?" She asked as she approached him, looking at the bandage as he lifted it and stared at it for a couple seconds.

"I… I mean… Bones, she… last night was a mess." He said as Angela smirked, settling her hand on her hip, she shook her head.

"Explain…" She said, raising her eyebrows.

"I mean, there's no need for details, but…" He paused again.

"Come on, Booth… it can't be that bad… get it all out in the open." She said, waving her hand in the air, she glanced toward the bathroom and then to the obviously anxious FBI agent in front of her.

"Why do I feel like I'm being interrogated?" He asked, his eyebrow rising slowly as Angela shook her head.

"Because you are… now out with it, big man."

"I… went to her place last night to talk to her about something, and her keys were in her door… I thought something had happened, so I walked in… and I heard really loud music coming from the bathroom… so I…"

"You didn't." Angela said shaking her head. "Please tell me you didn't." She whispered, knowing full well what loud music in Brennan's apartment meant. She had talked to her, and she knew that her friend would be taking a bath, and she also knew that when Brennan took a bath, she always blasted her stereo.

"She was… taking a bath, and apparently took the second that I went to check on her to wet her hair… and I freaked out and kind of…" Booth said as he watched Angela's smirk turn into a smile. "It was an accident! It was an accident, and I didn't see anything… because when I tried to pull her out, she kicked me and sent me flying into her mirror… hence the cuts on the hand… and she…I… I didn't see anything." He said again, watching Angela shake her head.

"Angela, I'm ready…" Brennan's voice came from the bathroom as Booth shook his head innocently as Angela glanced to the bathroom and back at him.

"I'll be right there, sweetie." She called as she glanced back at Booth and wagged her finger at him. "We are not done here." She said as she walked toward the bathroom.

"No." He shook his head. "I'm sure we're not." He said, watching her disappear back into the bathroom as he sighed and leaned against the doorway.


	17. Foreplay

Booth stood by the couch, waiting a couple of minutes as he watched Angela disappear into the bathroom. He felt anxious suddenly, not really knowing where he stood with Bones, or with Angela for that matter. He was slightly embarrassed that Angela had walked in on their argument, though it wouldn't have been the first time, it wasn't often that there was actually physical contact when they had an argument, so that added anxiety wasn't helping.

He glanced to the bedroom where the Thai food sits on the table. They were going to have a relaxing dinner and watch some television, but her stubbornness had gotten in the way once again. He sighed heavily and glanced toward the bathroom door as it opened, his eyes widening slightly as his eyebrows rose. The first thing he saw was Angela, stepping out in front of his partner, pushing the door open so that she could maneuver. He took a step forward to help, and Angela shook her head, holding her hand out to indicate that she was going to do it on her own.

"Feeling better, Bones?" He asked, his voice hopeful as he watched her look up at him and give him a slightly worried glance. "Well… I mean, are you alright?"

"I'm alright." She nodded. She glanced to Angela and nodded toward the door. "Ange?" She said as she carefully moved around toward the bedroom. Booth stayed in the same spot, following her with his eyes as she cringed as she put a little pressure on her foot, still moving toward the bedroom, she managed to get inside as he turned in his spot and watched Angela follow behind, closing the door.

"Hey…" He said as he took a step toward the door, waiting for them to open. He rapped his knuckles against it softly. "My dinner is…" As he spoke the door opened, and a bag of food was shoved out at him and the door quickly closed. "… in there… Hey… what's going on?" He asked, knocking on the door again, only to have Angela open the door and give him an incredulous look.

"Listen, G-man… it's girl talk… go sit on the couch… open a book, drink a beer… just relax, okay?" She said, her voice as serious as he had ever heard.

"But my television is in there." He said, watching Angela shake her head.

"I wasn't the one that decorated the apartment, Booth… you're going to have to take that up with the guy that lives here." She said as she started closing the door. "Just… relax…" She said quickly as she closed the door again.

"Relax?" He said, giving a heavy sigh as he shook his head and turned around. "This is so stupid." He mumbled, as he wandered across the room with his bag of food, flopping back hard on the couch, he shook his head and dug in.

------------

When Angela was through talking to Booth at the door, she turned to see her friend carefully lifting her foot to the bed. "Here sweetie, let me help you with that…" She said as Brennan shook her head.

"I can do it, Angela… I'm perfectly capable of… ah…" She cringed slightly as she set her foot onto the bed a little harder than she had intended.

"Are you okay?" She asked, watching her shake her head as the pain slowly dissipated.

"I'm okay now… I'm okay…" She nodded as she leaned back on her pillows, noting that now she was lying down, when she wanted to be sitting up. "This isn't going to work…" She said as she shook her head.

"Just let me help for a minute…" Angela said as she walked around the bed, pushing pillows around, she was able to get Brennan sitting up properly, her foot elevated, and the Thai food in her lap, as she settled herself beside her.

"Want some?" Temperance asked as she pushed a container toward Angela, who shook her head.

"No thanks, I had dinner… you eat…" Angela said as the two of them slipped into silence as she began to eat.

"You didn't have to banish him to the couch, Ange. It is his apartment, he has every right to be in his own bedroom." She said as Angela raised her eyebrows and shook her head as she poked at her food and shoved a bit into her mouth. "What?" She asked, lifting an eyebrow in confusion.

"You…" She shook her head. "I just… you have no idea."

"No idea about what?" She asked.

"What is going on with you, Bren?" Angela asked, leaning against the headboard as she shook her head.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Angela… if you're talking about the argument between Booth and I, it's over now. He just needs to understand that I'm not an invalid. I appreciate his help, but I don't need a bodyguard." She shrugged as she continued to eat, feeling her friend staring at her. "What?" She said, looking up to Angela's eyes.

"Sweetie… he's helping you because he likes you." Angela said as Brennan shook her head.

"No… no… he's helping me because I called him when I broke my foot." She said, poking at her food again, eating quietly as Angela sat beside her.

"So…" Angela said, trying not to sound like she knew too much already. "You… hit the table with your foot, and broke your toe… Booth was already there?"

"No." She shook her head. "I called him."

"You called him?"

"Mmmhmm… It was bad… and I needed help… he came by and helped me to the hospital." She said, watching Angela smirking slightly.

"You are the worst liar on the face of the planet." Angela laughed.

"I hardly believe that it's possible that I'm the most horrible liar on the planet, I'm sure that there are other ticks and habits that are more telling than mine…" She stopped and swallowed hard as she watched Angela's smirk turn to a grin. She had just revealed in so many words, that she had lied to her best friend, her mouth closing as she sucked in a breath. "How much did he tell you?" She asked, remembering that Angela and Booth had talked when she walked out of the bathroom.

"He told me about his hand." She replied, watching her cheeks blush red as she looked at her friend innocently.

"That was not… He… He broke the antique mirror in my bathroom! The one with the…" Brennan began to babble on, explaining herself.

"Bren…"

"And he just came crashing into the bathroom and grabbed hold of me… I mean, what was I supposed to do? Just let someone…"

"Bren…" She said, listening to her go on and on.

"…And the next thing I know, he's carrying me into the living room, and he says something about me being a lion and I just… I snapped." She said, looking at her friend in the eyes, finding instant understanding.

"He called you a lion?" She asked, confused as she took the container of food from Brennan and set it on the table, grabbing a tissue, he handed it to her friend to wipe her eyes where tears were beginning to form. She hardly ever saw her friend so emotional, and right now she could tell that if she wasn't careful, she could embarrass her, so she just waited for an explanation.

"I was… standing there, and he just… spouted out something stupid… inane, it doesn't even have any meaning at this point… all I know was that when I tried to… correct him, I had this unbelievable urge to just… to kick something." She swallowed and dabbed at her eye.

"You kicked the table?" Angela asked, cringing as she imagined the sound that it must have made. Her friend nodded and Angela reached around her friend and pulled her in a hug.

"Sweetie…" She said softly, rubbing her friend's arm carefully as she leaned into her. Brennan sniffled as she sat up on the pillows, glancing to her friend she sighed.

"I hate medication… I don't feel like I'm in control, I can't… stop myself from crying… I'm far too emotional. Besides, they give me nightmares." She sighed, her cheeks flushing slightly as she remembered her dream from earlier.

"So you kicked the table… and then what?" Angela asked as she watched Brennan sort of zone out for a second as she let her lip slide into her mouth and between her teeth for a second.

"Foreplay." Brennan whispered.

"Excuse me?" Angela asked, laughing as she watched her friend turn her head and look directly into her eyes.

"Foreplay, Angela… the finger… with the pie and the… coffee, and the whispering in my ear… the kisses…and the first name thing… Foreplay, it's foreplay."

"What's foreplay?" Angela asked as she shook her head.

"It's the practice of engaging in a sexually provocative game of…"

"No…" Angela laughed. "No… I know what foreplay is… but what are you talking about? Why did you mention it?" She asked, perplexed at her friend's most recent train of thought, though thoroughly entertained.

"Booth…" She swallowed hard as she glanced to Angela. "I think Booth wants to have sex with me." She said, her eyes innocent and confused, as she glanced to her friend with a questioning glance, as she waited for a response.


	18. Flying Monkeys

Angela's jaw dropped slightly at her friend's words, her blue eyes staring questioningly into her eyes as she tried to make sense of what was going on. "Ange?" She whispered, as Angela shook her head.

"Bren, no." She said, her voice was serious and though she was very surprised that she had just figured this little bit of information out, she also knew that she was stomping on a thin sheet of ice, and one wrong move, and they'd all go under.

"No, he doesn't want to have sex with me, or no it's not foreplay? I don't understand. I mean, there used to be subtleties in our relationship, Ange. Casual things that made me understand that he cares… a touch on my back, a lift of my chin. He's always been… supportive, always been there, but things… lately have been a little more… intense." Brennan said as she swallowed anxiously, her eyes flashing to the door quickly, as if she were concerned that he was standing on the other side, listening to everything she was saying. "Forget I said anything." She said as she turned her head to the table, and reached out for her food. Her friend's hand was instantly on hers, stopping her from avoiding the situation.

"Bren, no." Angela said again, trying to figure out exactly what she wanted to say, she watched her friend's eyes meet hers once again. "Sweetie… he loves you."

"I…" she started to retort and she felt Angela's hand squeeze her arm slightly.

"Sweetie… come on… look at the facts." She shook her head.

"The facts." She whispered to herself as she looked to the blankets, the table, and the floor. She looked everywhere but into Angela's eyes.

"The facts, Bren." She said softly. "You know… the truth?" She said with a sigh. "He trusts you, sweetie… he protects you… he takes care of you, and he's your best friend. He loves you."

"You're my best friend." She corrected quickly, finding Angela's eyes again.

"Well… then why did I have to find out about this whole situation through every possible avenue but you? Bren… he's your best friend, and it's okay… it's a different kind of friendship." Angela explained. "The point I'm trying to make, is that… when it comes to you and him… both of your emotions run deeper than you care to admit."

"Are you saying that I want to have sex with Booth?" She whispered, watching her friend try to figure out what was going through her mind; her eyes were so filled with confusion. She looked uncomfortable and tired, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Angela?" She asked as her friend paused.

"It's not about sex, sweetie." Angela shook her head. "Sex is more… primal… you and Booth are more about… soul."

"Angela… a soul is an immeasurable entity that some cultures use to… cope with the death of a loved one… to say that… they live on in this world, when they are actually very much dead… it's a coping mechanism for death, Ange… I am not dead… Booth is not dead."

"Which is exactly my point!" Angela exclaimed as she tipped her head back. She almost laughed at her friend, though she knew that it wouldn't do any good to make fun of this situation. It was important to Brennan to know what was going on, and the more they talked, the more their conversation refused to connect. "Sweetie… you're not dead… you're alive… you're very much alive, and you're beautiful… and young… and he sees that, he sees that. Why do you refuse to believe that? I see the way he looks at you, Bren… it's not the way that an animal looks at a piece of meat. He looks at you with love, sweetie. He looks at you with admiration. He admires you."

"So it's not that he wants… me, he just…wants to… be more like me?" She asked, watching Angela smirk slightly at her friend's words.

"He's envious of your brain sometimes." She shrugged. "But that's not it." She whispered. "I'm sure you're envious of his heart… you're like the tin man, he's like the scarecrow… you just have to find your yellow brick road." Angela said with a smile.

"I don't know what that means." Brennan said with a furrowed brow as Angela shook her head.

"Forget that… analogy…" She laughed her comparison off as she shrugged. "The point is, you should just talk to him… and not about sex." She said, pointing in her friend's direction. "Sex isn't the issue… it is not the most important part of a relationship.

"There are some cultures, in the…"

"It's not the most important part of this relationship, Bren." Angela said seriously, watching her friend nod her head. She then watched as Brennan reached for her food once again, poking the fork inside, she continued her dinner in silence.

----------------

As the time approached 11:00 pm, Angela stepped out of the bedroom to find Booth lying awkwardly on the couch, his head tipped back, and mouth open. He was snoring softly, a book in his hands as she smirked and shook her head. She leaned over the back of the couch and watched him for a second. "Hey." She said, her voice serious, and loud enough to rouse him from his slumber. He snorted as he let his head fly up. "She's sleeping." She said as he tried to focus on her for a moment. It took him a second to realize that she was talking to him, and he closed his mouth and looked at her confused for a moment.

"She's asleep?" He asked, his voice tired and dry from having his mouth open as he slept. "Is she okay?" He said softly, watching Angela smile tenderly at him.

"She's okay." She nodded as she tossed an empty medicine bottle toward him. He remembered that there had only been one pill left in the bottle, and he glanced toward the door and back to Angela. "She'll be alright, Booth. She just needs her rest… I'll see you guys Monday." She said with a nod as Booth nodded back.

"Goodnight, Angela." He said as he sat up and looked over to her approaching the door.

"Thanks for letting me know what was going on." She said as she opened the door. "Goodnight, Booth." She said as she turned and walked out of the door, closing it behind herself.

Booth sat all the way up and rubbed his eyes. He yawned and reached over to the table, glancing into the containers of Thai food that were now empty, he yawned again and glanced toward the door to the bedroom. He lifted up the containers and carried them into the kitchen, tossing them into the trash; he pulled a glass from the cupboard and poured himself a glass of water. He set the glass on the counter and walked toward his bedroom. He stepped into the room and paused for a moment as he watched his partner lay across his bed. Her eyes were closed in a restful sleep, and her appearance wasn't as rough as it had been in the past twenty four hours. She looked at peace, she looked beautiful, and she looked perfect.

He stood for a very long moment with his eyes on her, fighting the urge to lie down beside her. He sighed as he walked to his dresser, pulling a pair of sweatpants from within the drawer, and a t-shirt, he turned to leave the room to change and settle himself onto the couch for the night.

"Booth?" Her voice was sleepy and worn, and he thought for a moment of all of the things that she had said in the past twenty four hours, all of the things that were so unlike her. He thought of the dream that he had interrupted earlier, which was obviously a pleasurable one. He almost dreaded what words would come from her lips now, knowing that they were laced with narcotics and pain, though strangely her blue eyes seemed clear as she looked at him sleepily.

"Bones?" He said, watching her eyes blink some of the sleep from them as she focused on his form as it headed toward the door.

"After you change your clothes… are you going to come back?" She asked, her brow furrowed as he tilted his head and smiled tenderly at her.

"Do you want me to come back?" he asked, watching her nod solemnly, her eyes maintaining that straight faced, serious stare. "You're sure, Bones?" he asked, watching her answer once again come in the form of a nod.

"You can stay next to me… watch television with me like you said we'd do earlier." She swallowed. "It's your place… I shouldn't keep you away from the things that you want to be near." She said as she watched him nod his head and smile.

"I'll be right back…" he said, watching a slow smile spread across her face as he slipped out the door.

Ten minutes later, the door opened again, and Booth walked in changed. He smiled as he watched her lie on her back, her eyes closed once again in a soft, tender sleep. He climbed onto the empty half of the bed, and grabbed the remote control from the side table. When he turned around, he found her eyes on him again, and a tender smile on her lips as she watched him for a moment. "What?" he asked, a humored look on his face as he glanced to her foot. "How is it feeling?"

"It's fine." She replied, watching him glance to the television. He turned on the television and smiled over at her for a second as he glanced back to the television. He noticed that she still had her eyes on him.

"Oh… look…" He said, a smile on his lips as he glanced to her. "The Wizard of Oz…" He said, smiling. "I used to love this movie when I was a kid." He said as she glanced to the television and back to him.

"I've never seen it." She admitted, swallowing hard as she watched his eyes on her for a moment.

"In that case…" he said, leaning over onto his side, he wrapped his arm around her and turned her slightly, so that his head rested on her shoulder, their faces nearly cheek to cheek as he took a slow, deep breath. "We'll watch it together…" he said as he glanced to her foot to see that it was still sitting comfortably on its perch, despite their awkward position. He felt her melt into his arms as the movie began, her body relaxing every inch of itself into his. "I'm just going to hold you though… I don't want you to be afraid of the flying monkeys…" He said with a slight chuckle.

There was a pause, and he could have sworn he had heard a sigh. "Booth?" She whispered, her eyes on the television in front of her as he heard his almost silent 'hmm' in her ear. "Monkeys can't fly." She said, smiling as his only reply was a tender chuckle, and a light squeeze of her waist, as he held her even closer.


	19. There's no place like home

_"There's no place like home."_

The line echoed in Brennan's mind as she watched the ending credits of the movie, her eyes having never left the screen through the entire movie. Booth's arm was still wound tightly around her, though his breathing in her ear had become softer as the movie went on, and she knew that he had eventually fallen asleep. She had tried her hardest to remain quiet throughout the film, though she was really itching to discuss the inaccuracies and impossibilities of the movie with Booth. She moved slightly in his arms, hearing a barely audible groan from her partner as his arms tightened slightly around her, his breath still on her cheek as she lifted her head a bit to see his face.

She watched his eyes move beneath his eyelids for a moment, a tender smirk on his lips as he slept. He seemed very happy with himself at this moment, having her trapped in his arms with no means for escape. She smirked herself, knowing that Angela would surely have something to say about winding up in this position with her partner, especially after the conversation they had just had that evening. Her eyes moved back to the television screen, as she thought about her friend's words.

_"You're like the tin man, he's like the scarecrow… you just have to find your yellow brick road."_

At the time, the words meant nothing. They were confusing and frankly, a bit disturbing in Brennan's mind, but after having seen that movie, she couldn't help but think of the implications behind what her friend was saying. Tin Man… was the one without a heart. Was Angela implying that she had no heart? Was she implying that she was heartless, and Booth was brainless? No. No, that's not what she meant… not literally. One could not live without their heart or brain literally, though it was what she had said. Tin man, no heart. Scarecrow, no brain. The movie was interpreting though that though they thought they were missing these things, the tin man and scarecrow had those 'organs' all along, even though it is ridiculous to think that a man would be made of tin, or a scarecrow could talk, or move. A scarecrow had no skeletal structure, no other body parts for that matter. She continued to stare at Booth's chin, thinking about the quandary that she had found herself in.

Heart, brain… what was the story trying to imply? It implied, that… despite that the characters thought that they were missing those important items… those things that they thought could make them whole… they were there all along. The tin man had always had a heart, and the… scarecrow always had his brain… just like she and Booth had those things, and though they weren't their strengths, they were there. She continued to think, her mind rolling the facts and thoughts of the story in her mind as she felt herself waking up a bit more, finding that all of the sleep she had gotten during the day had finally caught up with her. Yellow brick road? What did that imply? What did that mean, to 'find your yellow brick road'? It was obviously a reference to gold… gold, being priceless… a street paved with gold, happiness, finding happiness through taking the path of riches. Riches didn't need to mean money or gold, but to follow your dreams and things that make you happy. What makes me happy?

"Bones?" His voice interrupted her string of thoughts that were marching through her brain, her eyes darted up to meet his, and her head lifted slightly as they ended up lying face to face, her head turned over her shoulder as she realized that she had been staring at his face for an unspecified amount of time.

"Hmm?" She was able to utter, feeling the warmth in her cheeks as she tried to compose herself.

"Why are you staring at me like I'm a pile of bones?" He asked, her eyebrow raising as a half smile appeared on her face.

"What?" She asked, her voice clear and not sleepy, her eyes clear and blue, like two pools of light that were reflecting her every emotion.

"You're just staring at me." He whispered. "Like you do when you're analyzing a skeleton…" He whispered. "It kind of gives me a little bit of a chill." He said softly.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, starting to pull away as she attempted to hide her embarrassment.

"No." He said, his voice slightly rough from sleep as he held her tightly. "No, it's fine." He whispered. "Are you alright?" He asked, watching her nod, though slightly dismayed that she hadn't brought her eyes to meet his again.

"I'm okay." She said softly as she nodded her head, staring at the television screen as a late night infomercial played on the channel that they had left it on.

"What did you think of the movie?" He whispered, watching her head turn slightly, her eyes now staring at the ceiling, flickering to his eyes once and then back to the ceiling. "I liked it." She whispered. He was about to say 'good', when she followed it up with a… "But…"

He chuckled slightly at her qualifier, her thoughts on the movie were just dying to be revealed and she turned her head a little more, catching her blue eyes with his for a long moment. "But there were several inaccuracies." She said seriously.

"It's a children's story, Bones." He said as she nodded her head.

"Yes, and don't you think that children should know the truth, the reality of such things?"

"Of course." Booth said with a slight smile. "But that doesn't mean that their imagination shouldn't be used. The story was a dream… strange things happen in dreams, Bones. Not everything is rational and real in a dream." He said, moving to the side slightly, releasing her from his arms for a moment as he allowed her to roll on her back. He lay with his elbow bent, his head resting upon it as she looked up at him.

"I really don't want to get into dream analysis, Booth." She said as she yawned slightly, watching him try to hold back his own yawn. She watched him cover his mouth with his hand, his eyes closing tightly as he let out a soft sigh as he yawned, his eyes opening to watch hers as she looked back at him. "Booth?" She whispered.

"Hmm…?" He said, his eyebrow raised in question as he watched her with a half smirk on his face, the sleepiness in his eyes was evident as she just paused for a moment.

"Home doesn't have to be a place, does it?" She asked, watching his brow furrow in confusion. "I mean… Home… is more of a state of mind, right? A house is a structure, but a home… does that tend to be… the same thing?"

"Have you ever heard the saying 'home is where your heart is', Bones?" He asked, watching her shake her head and give him a confused look. "I know, I know… your heart is in your chest… metaphorical heart… heart, meaning… love… must you make everything so literal and confusing?" He asked as he watched her gaze move to the ceiling. He instantly felt guilty that she had looked away, but he could see the humor in her eyes.

"I think I understand." She whispered, taking a slow deep breath, she smiled and rolled slightly, her eyes not meeting his, but instead her head turning so that her head rested on his chest. Instinctively, his arm wrapped around her as he wondered for a moment what was going on inside her mind. Her ear lay against his chest, and as she listened for his rapidly beating heart, she smiled. "There's no place like home." She whispered, as she felt him hug her just a little tighter to him, she let out a soft, tender sigh, and fell asleep against his body.


	20. Waking up

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just wanted to tell all of my reviewers that I am absolutely loving your reviews, and I appreciate your feedback. If there is a grammar mistake here and there, I apologize, I am a serial non-proofreader, and if you just send me a quick e-mail, the changes will be made accordingly. If the characters seem a bit 'out of character', I also apologize... I find this show very difficult to write fiction for, though I have a great love for the characters. Keep reviewing, I'll keep writing, and I love your words more than you love mine. :) Thank you.**

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The sun crept over the horizon and the light pushed its way through the thin veil of curtains. Brennan took a deep breath, slow and steady as she felt the weight of something heavy pulled securely around her waist. Her foot had long since fallen from its perch atop the pillows at the bottom of the bed, and her head wasn't nearly as full as it had been the morning before. She almost actually felt refreshed, and she found a slight smirk on her face as she took a slow, deep breath that filled her senses with the sweet, musky cologne scent that seemed to focus her senses on the protection and safety that the owner of that scent provided. The weight on her waist was loose, and she no longer lay buried with her face against it's owner's chest, but her body lay on its side, pressed backwards into his as his nose rest, burrowed and settled in her hair.

She dare not move for several moments, listening to the sound of his breathing, the sound of the low growl in his throat with each breath as he slept peacefully against her, each breath pushing through her hair, tickling the tiny hairs on her neck as she lay motionless, thinking about her conversation with Angela, and how she seemed to be so right about Booth and his intentions, she then pushed those thoughts into the back of her mind as she closed her eyes again, drifting back to sleep.

After another hour or so, Booth's sense of consciousness began to unfold with a soft intake of breath that filled his senses with the honey-flower scent of his partner's hair. Her hair was so delicate and sweet smelling, her body warm and pushed against him peacefully, perfectly, seamlessly. He turned his head slightly, lifting it to glance at the clock, sighing as he realized that he'd be missing morning mass, and buried his nose back in her hair, saying a silent prayer of forgiveness to the Lord for indulging what could be perceived as a lustful act upon his partner's unknowing body.

Slowly, he lifted his arm from her body, pulling himself from around her, he thought he heard a slight moan of disappointment slip from his partner's lips, though he was sure it was just his imagination. He rolled to his side and put his feet on the floor, glancing over his shoulder to see her curl a little tighter into the blankets at her partner's sudden disappearance. He smiled just a little as he stood up, leaning over to make sure she was covered, he then turned for the door and made his way toward the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

After about fifteen minutes, when the coffee had been brewed, Booth turned his back to grab two mugs from the cupboard, when he heard a shuffling sound coming from the doorway to the bedroom. He glanced over to see his partner with her arms around the crutches, looking in on him, leaning slightly on the wall beside the door to the bedroom. "Hey sleepy Bones." He said with a smirk as he poured the coffee into the cups, glancing up to see her yawning.

"I should get back to my apartment." She said, her voice filled with sleepiness as he approached her with two cups of coffee and a smirk.

"How is your foot feeling?" He asked, avoiding her question as he nodded toward the couch.

"It's fine." She said as she grabbed the crutches again and started moving across the apartment slowly. "But you're not listening to me, Booth. I have to get back to my apartment… I have work tomorrow, I have to take a shower, change…"

"I brought you a change of clothes from your apartment." He said as he watched her sit down on the couch, setting the crutches beside her as she reached up for the cup that Booth offered her.

"You went through my things?" She asked, scoffing at the smirk that he gave her as he walked around the back of the couch, sitting beside her, he tossed his feet up onto the coffee table and sipped from his cup.

"Yep." He said, avoiding eye contact with the obviously irritated scientist.

"You broke into my apartment… and you went through my things?" She asked, glaring at him.

"Bones… you were here… I told you what I was doing… and I had a key, there was no breaking involved." He said with a smirk as he glanced to her with a cocky grin as she glared for a moment and then sighed, looking into her cup of coffee. "It's not my fault you were higher than a kite all day yesterday… which reminds me." He said, giving her a sideways glance as he noticed she was avoiding eye contact. "You're a lot more lucid this morning than you have been… you getting used to those painkillers or something?" He asked, remembering how clear her eyes had been the night before.

"I didn't take the painkillers." She said, staring off at nothing as she noticed that he was still staring at her. Before he could say anything, she set the coffee cup down on the table and grabbed the crutches. She was pulling herself up, when she noticed he was still a bit stunned by her admission.

"What do you mean you didn't take the painkillers?" He asked as he stood up also, reaching for her before she could move, she moved quicker than he had anticipated and was already on her way to the bathroom.

"Grab my bag for me… I'm going to take a shower here, and then you can take me to my place." She said, ignoring his question and his confrontation as she limped into the bathroom with the crutches.

"Bones?" He said as he walked after her, grabbing her bag from the floor behind the couch, he walked in behind her and watched as she balanced herself beside the shower, turning it on to get the temperature right. "Hey…" He said as she turned her head and looked over at him.

"I need a bag for my foot… for the bandage, can you get me one?" She asked, watching him hesitate at the door.

"Bones, you're going to fall in the shower… you can't do this alone." He said as she glared at him again. "I'll get you a bag." He said as he turned around and walked out of the bathroom. The only thought in his mind was the fact that all of those things that she had said to him last night, the request for him to stay, the cuddling, the questions and sweetness. All of the things that he had expected were part of a drug induced haze, she had admitted hadn't. The guilt that he had felt the night before, for letting her be vulnerable and sleep in his arms, was still rolling around in his stomach, and to have this admission from her, that it wasn't the drugs, it wasn't in a haze, that she had been fully cognizant through the entire thing.

"Booth, are you coming with the bag or not?" She called from the bathroom, irritated that he hadn't returned just yet.

"Yeah… yeah, sorry." He said, grabbing a plastic bag from the cupboard and a rubber band from the drawer, he swallowed hard as he walked into the bathroom. "Bones…?" Booth said as he walked into the bathroom, watching as she sat on the edge of the toilet removing the air cast from her foot. She looked up at him expectantly as he handed her the bag and the rubber band. "Angela gave me the painkiller bottle last night… it was empty, there had been one more pill left." He said, watching her look back down at her foot as she fastened the bag over it, snapping the rubber band around it as she continued to busy herself with her foot.

"I had her flush it down the toilet." She said as she continued to fasten the bag.

"Why?" He asked, noticing that she was finished getting her foot ready, but she still insisted on fiddling with the rubber band fastening it to her leg.

"Because I wasn't going to take any more painkillers." She said, her eyes looking up at him, her eyes serious and insistent. "They made me feel vulnerable. They made me feel not like myself. I need to be myself." She replied seriously.

"But the pain?" Booth said, nodding toward her foot.

"My foot is much better now… nothing that… a simple pain reliever couldn't combat… now are you done with the interrogation, because I'd like to take a bath without you in the bathroom at least once this weekend." She said, and though she was teasing, she could tell that he felt incredibly guilty for having been the source of her pain and her irritation for the past forty eight hours. "Thank you… for the bag… and the rubber band, Booth." She said, unsure of what else to say.

"No problem." He said, nodding his head as he walked toward the door. "Yell… if you need anything." He said, watching her nod her head as he gave her a friendly smile and quietly left the bathroom.


	21. Kiss or Kill?

Booth listened intently to the sound of the water in the bathroom, half expecting there to be some sort of catastrophe within the room, based upon their luck in the past forty eight hours. When he heard the water turn off, he waited, listening for any kind of indication that she needed anything. He sat staring at the light streaming in through the windows, his coffee cup sitting firmly in his hand as he waited quietly. He knew that if she walked out of the bathroom and caught him staring at the door, that he'd be sure to catch the sharp end of her tongue right between the eyes. He chuckled to himself at the picture that his thoughts evoked, and sat smirking into nothingness when he heard the hard shuffle of one of the crutches hitting the door. He turned his head and smiled politely at her entrance. She was fully dressed, though her hair remained damp, hanging down loosely over her shoulders as she stood with her head looking down at her foot as she sighed.

"Do you need anything?" He asked, remaining on the couch against his chivalrous side that was screaming for him to stand up and help her immediately, though his logical more 'sensitive' side, was leaning toward letting her do what she could on her own, knowing that if she did need help that she'd ask.

"I'm fine, Booth." She said somewhat sharply, looking up to see that he was trying very hard to remain sitting while she struggled to make her way from the bathroom. "I mean… thank you… but I'm okay." She said, and was happy to see his eyes light up just slightly at her gesture of politeness.

"Do you want some coffee, or did you want me to bring you right home?" He asked, watching as she regarded his question seriously, her eyes on his for a moment as she nodded.

"I should probably get home." She said softly. "I need… to make an appointment with my primary care provider to have my foot looked at more thoroughly, schedule some physical therapy sessions. I don't think I'll be on my foot for a while, and I want to make sure that the bone sets properly." She said as she approached him slowly.

"That's right… I don't need my partner ending up with a club foot." Booth replied, sitting back on the couch, he leaned back as he listened to her making her way across the floor. When she was standing beside him, he looked up at the amusement in her face.

"You can't develop club foot, Booth." She replied as she shook her head. "It's the colloquial term for a genetic defect called talipes equinovarus. It's actually caused by several factors including the presentation of three copies of chromosome 18, though it's very often seen to be associated with spina bifida systica or the use of ecstasy or cigarette smoking while pregnant." She bantered as she watched the smile on Booth's face widen. "What?"

"You're a wealth of information, Bones." He replied, patting the couch beside him.

"I can explain more about it, if you'd like. I have some pretty extensive literature on the Ponseti method, and other methods used in the treatment of the disorder." She mumbled, watching the slight sparkle in his eyes as she spoke. She continued to talk as she sat down beside him, tucking the crutches onto the couch beside her as he leaned back slightly. He slowly lifted his arm to the back of the couch and around her shoulder while she lifted her foot to the coffee table and continued after she watched him put his feet onto the coffee table as well. "You know, there have been some famous people who had club feet when they were born, that have gone onto doing some amazing things." She said as she tried to avoid eye contact as he pulled her just a little closer. She could feel her stomach knotting, not in an undesirable way, but in a nervous fluttering way that was making her increasingly uneasy. She could smell his scent now, the subtle scent of soap and aftershave, a soft humming coming from his nose with each breath. She tried to keep her thoughts on the subject at hand, moving her fingers in a strumming pattern as she spoke.

"Oh really?" He said, though his voice was quite playful, he was genuinely interested in what she was saying, noting the stiffness in her body as she leaned against him, almost pushing back from his subtle advances. He found his nose almost buried in her hair, and though she had used his shampoo, and his soap, he could still smell the sweetness that he knew as Temperance. "Like who?" He whispered into her hair, noticing immediately that she was moving her hand in a repetitive, nervous motion as they sit together.

"Um…" She paused, finding that she had completely lost focus of her thoughts. He was holding her, breathing her, smelling her, listening to her, all that was left was tasting, and he was getting very, very close to that goal. "Um…" She said again as she sat up a little more, pulling herself from his arms slightly so that she could look him in the eyes. She eyed him carefully to make sure he was paying attention, and not just humoring her. He looked genuinely interested, so she continued. "The… Roman Emperor Claudius… Lord Byron…" She began, watching as he smirked.

"Anyone that I'd recognize?" He asked, watching the humor in her eyes return as she tilted her head.

"Kristi Yamaguchi? She won the Olympic gold medal in 1992." She said, watching him nod his head. "Um… the actor… Dudley Moore… though he was able to hide the ailment by wearing one shoe with a larger sole than the other… and…" She said, suddenly feeling his hand touch hers, she fought the reflex to pull it back and found his eyes once again with hers. "What are you doing?" She whispered, watching him smile tenderly at her, his eyebrows rising as he looked at her expectantly.

"What do you mean?" He asked, looking down at his hand, finding them entwined. His heart was beating so rapidly, that he found that he almost couldn't keep up with it, his nervous stomach flipped anxiously. "You're nervous." He said softly. "Am I making you nervous?"

"No." She replied outright, moving her eyes away from his, she nodded. "No… no, I'm fine."

"You're nodding, Bones." He said with a smile on his lips, watching her turn to look at him. "I'm making you uncomfortable." He whispered as he started to pull his hand away, feeling her grip it tighter in her hand as she sat and stared out at the light filtering in through the window, the same window that he had been staring out minutes before when he was waiting for her to emerge from the bathroom. "Are you alright?" He whispered, watching her nod her head slowly as her gaze continued out the window for several moments, finally letting her body settle back into the couch, leaning it slightly so that their shoulders touched.

"Bones?" He asked, not expecting a reply for they both knew that a serious conversation was forthcoming. "I'm sorry." He whispered. She didn't reply, or make any move to reply, so he continued. "I didn't mean to make… inappropriate overtures to you the other night… the diner." He whispered. "I mean… they weren't meant to be inappropriate… and I'm sorry about the mirror… and um… and the table… I'm sorry." He whispered as he watched her contemplate his words for a few moments.

She turned her head so that she could look into his eyes, the sincerity within them almost made her shiver. He watched her with such care, searching her face for an answer, or a reply. He didn't know what to expect from her. Understanding? Rejection? He had found it habitual to speak to his partner in a third person sense, sending her his own reactions and feelings in a way that were not personal. Telling her about making love, about finding the right person, about never betraying someone you love. He had always felt that those lessons were lessons of the heart, just like she gave him lessons of a more cerebral nature, lessons that he always took to the heart. This was different, because it was coming from him, directly from his heart to hers, metaphorically, of course. A small smile crept onto his lips as he watched her blue eyes glisten in the sunlight from the window, when to his dismay, he watched them quickly cloud with fear.

"You don't have to apologize for the table, Booth." She said as she turned her head, breaking the spell instantly. She pulled her hand from his and grabbed the crutches.

"Bones." He said, trying to get her attention once more, just like he had captured it moments before. It was gone, and she was now standing, looking around the room almost frantically. "Bones, please." He said as she started to move toward the bathroom.

"I have to get my bag, and then… then we can go… then you can bring me back to my place." she said as she disappeared behind the door.

Booth stood up and walked toward the bathroom, just as he was about to knock, it swung open and she tossed her bag out. "Can you carry that?" She asked, rushing past him on the crutches as she made her way toward the door. "Where are my shoes?" She asked, glancing to Booth as he sighed.

"Bones…"

"I need to put my shoe on… and then put my other shoe into the bag… and then we can go… then we can…"

"Bones." Booth said again, trying to get her attention.

"I have to make those appointments… figure out how I'm going to get to work tomorrow… Maybe Angela will pick me up… or Hodgins… he passes near my neighborhood… I just need to find my shoes…" She said as she looked around on the floor frantically. "I just need to find my…"

"Bones!" Booth exclaimed, instantly feeling guilty when she started at the raising of his voice, her eyes shooting up to meet his.

"Shoes…" She swallowed hard.

"You don't have any shoes here, Bones." He said, his voice was soft and soothing, but he could see the confusion in her eyes, the uncertainty.

"Shoes…" She repeated, sucking in a slow, deep breath. "I need to put my shoes on..."

"You didn't have shoes on, Bones…" He said softly. "I carried you to the car, and you didn't have any shoes on."

"Then how am I supposed to get to the car, Booth?" She asked, her cheeks flushed with what either embarrassment or anger, and he wasn't sure exactly how to answer to ensure that it were the former and not the latter. The inflection in her voice suggested anger, but the reflection in her eyes was obviously of embarrassment.

"How was I supposed to get a shoe on your foot, Bones? You let it swell up to six times its normal size when you stormed off into your bedroom…" He snapped.

"That's ridiculous, Booth! There is no way that my foot could have swollen to six times its size! Stop speaking in hyperbole, it makes you sound moronic!"

"So now you're calling me a moron?"

"I said you sound like a moron!" She exclaimed, slamming one of her crutches into the ground. "Sound… you sound like a moron! Just like when you misuse words, and you say the wrong word when you know the correct one! It makes you sound like a moron!"

"It's the same thing! It's the same thing, Bones!" He shouted back, their faces ending up only inches apart. "You said I sound like a moron, so you're calling me a moron! I am not a… AAHH OW! OW!" He exclaimed as he felt the end of the crutch slam into his foot, he hopped backwards and shouted as he turned around. "Fine! You're going to play it that way!" He exclaimed as he grabbed her bag from the floor and swung it over his shoulder. He grabbed his sneakers and shoved his feet into them swiftly, and with one movement, he grabbed hold of her and flipped her over his shoulder as she screeched in reaction to him grabbing her.

"Let me down! Let me down, now, Booth!" She exclaimed angrily, punching his back as he ignored her request and simply grabbed the crutches from the ground carefully, and walked toward the door purposefully as she struggled in his arms.

As he swung the door open, he stopped, his eyes filled with emotion as she growled angrily at him. "Do you really, really want me to let you down, Bones?" he spat angrily as she shouted her answer back at him. "I swear, Bones…" He said with a shift of her weight over his shoulder. "Sometimes I don't know whether to kiss you or kill you…" He said as his voice softened at the last words, feeling her body give in as he carried her, her screaming stopped, and he wasn't sure, but he thought he might have heard a slight sob escape her mouth. He walked down the stairs as he held her, reaching the bottom of the stairs he carefully let her to the ground. She refused to look into his eyes, leaning her head against his body as he held her upright. "Bones?" He whispered allowing her to hold him tightly as she tried to stand up on her own against him. "Bones, are you alright?" He whispered.

"I am ready to go home." She whispered.

"Bones, I'm sorry." He said, watching as she accepted the crutches that he was offering. "Bones, I can carry you to the car…"

"You've done enough, Booth." She whispered, as she took the crutches from his hands, and tucked them under her arms, making her way to the SUV on her own, embarrassed and angry.


	22. The Logic

The drive to Brennan's apartment was quiet and awkward. The tension was thick and uncomfortable, and the silence was deafening. Booth weaved through the streets carefully, his eyes being the only thing to venture in the direction of his partner, as he noted that she was staring straight ahead the entire time. He wanted to talk, but he didn't dare say a word. She knew how to kill and make it look like an accident, and he didn't want to be her first victim. With her eyes trained out the window, she sighed. "Watch the road, not me." She said, her eyes traveling to the driver's seat as Booth's eyes moved quickly to the windshield.

"I'm not watching you." He said innocently.

"I was watching you watching me." She said, turning her head to look at him. She watched his jaw clench time and again. "You shouldn't grind your teeth." She sighed. "Bruxism can cause damage to your teeth, migraine headaches and can eventually lead to temporomandibular disorders, which will make yawning, talking and chewing very uncomfortable and painful." She said, focusing her attention back to the outside.

"I'd make a comment about that, but I don't want to be called a moron again." He muttered.

"I didn't call you a moron!" She exclaimed angrily, sucking in a breath to continue her tirade, she noticed the half smirk on his face and stopped, reaching her hand across, she smacked his arm and watched his smirk turn into a full smile.

"I know you didn't call me a moron." He replied.

"Then why did you accuse me of it?" She asked, her icy stare on him as he pulled his car up behind hers and parked.

"Because you asked for it." He said, turning in his seat. "You have been going off half cocked for the past two days, kicking me… kicking tables, breaking stuff… I know why you kicked that table, Temperance." He said seriously, watching her eyes narrow at the sound of her first name slipping from his tongue. "I've apologized… a lot… probably more than I should have, and I'm just trying to figure out what's going on in that gigantic brain of yours!"

"My brain is normally sized, thank you." She said with a cold, irritated tone, flicking off her seatbelt. "And I told you that you don't have to apologize for the table. That was an overreaction on my part and I'm embarrassed and upset that it happened."

"That's just it, Temperance…" He said as he shook his head. "I'm not asking you to apologize for getting upset. I'm asking you to admit to yourself… admit to me… why you got upset. You're the rational one here… you're the one that lives for logic and truth. Tell me the truth… why did you do it?"

"I did it… for… I did… You tell ME why I did it! You're the one that… that can read people, Seeley!" She said, the sound of his name coming off her lips almost like acid, foreign and angry as she reached for the door handle. She heard it lock before she could pull it, and turned her head to glare at her partner. "Unlock the door." She growled.

"You unlock the door." He said, the smirk on his face was full of challenge as he watched her grit her teeth and flip the lock on the door, pulling the handle, she slammed her shoulder into the door when it wouldn't open.

"What the…"

"Child safety lock." He grinned.

"You…!" She exclaimed as she lunged across the car toward his side, only to be grabbed by him.

"Hey…. Hey, watch it!" He exclaimed, extremely humored by the entire situation. "Hey… be careful!" He exclaimed.

"Be careful? Be careful? You're holding me hostage!" She exclaimed as she struggled across him, ignoring the pain in her foot as she smacked it against the door, pushing her way across his lap as she tried to climb over him.

"Hey, hey… Bones… stop it… people are going to get the wrong idea…" He said as he tried to stop laughing, feeling her elbows digging into his side as she reached for the locks. "Bones… come on… be careful… I'd like to have more children in the future…" He said as she suddenly huffed, sat back and crossed her arms over her chest angrily. "Hey… come on…"

"What did you think you could accomplish by holding me hostage?" She asked, staring out the front window.

"I'm not holding you hostage, Bones." He said, turning his head, he watched her cross her arms over her chest. "I just want to ask you where we stand without you running away."

"Where we stand?" She said, sending an icy stare out of the corner of her eye as she turned her attention out the front windshield again.

"Yes… where we stand… I want to know where we stand." He repeated.

"I don't understand what you mean." She said, turning her expression back to a blank stare out of the window.

"Come on Bones… don't pull the idiot savant card out on me. You know perfectly well what I mean."

Brennan remained quiet for a moment, her silence was full of thought though, for Booth could see that she was thinking and not just sitting there idly waiting for him to just open the door. The longer they sat there, the calmer she became, knowing that he wouldn't keep her in the car for much longer, she decided to wait him out.

"Bones…" He shook his head. "I can stay here all night." He said, listening to her sigh.

"But you won't." She replied.

"You talk to me about everything, Bones… why won't you talk to me about this?"

"Because this is about you, Booth! I can't talk to you, about you!"

"Why? Why not? Here… I'm not me for a minute, okay? I'll be someone else." He said as he sat sideways in his seat, looking her in the eyes as she shook her head.

"You can't be someone else, Booth. You're still you… I can't pretend that you're someone else."

"Why not? Why can't you just pretend? Call me by a different name… close your eyes and talk… whatever makes you comfortable." He said, noting the slight panic in her eyes as she glanced toward the window. She looked like a bird in a glass cage. Her eyes were wide with fear, and her wings were already spread and ready for flight, and knowing Bones, she'd keep trying until everything else broke around her and she was able to escape. "Just… talk to me." He said, sincerely. "Bones, please?" He said, lowering his voice.

"I need… time to think." She said, bringing her eyes to his. She looked so lost, his heart nearly broke for her. "I just need time to think about this… please?"

"I'm being pushy…?" He asked.

"No…" She said quickly, her eyes more serious as she grabbed his arm with her hand softly. "No, you're not. You're not being pushy." She sighed. "I'm just… I'm a little confused… and I'm still… I'm really confused and I'm trying to figure out where I stand."

"With me?" He replied.

"With me." She said, swallowing hard. "I can't tell you where I stand with you, until I can figure out what I want, Booth."

"Why can't we talk about it together?" He asked innocently.

"Because you're not me… you don't think like me… you don't understand…"

"I understand you." He interrupted, reaching for her hand, he was surprised when she allowed him to grasp it. "I understand you, Bones. I'm not an idiot… I know you need to think, to process, to catalogue and compartmentalize. I get it." He nodded. "But just know… that I want to get to know you better, Bones. I want to try."

"And I want to think about what I want." She replied, sucking in a breath as their eyes met in a tender moment of understanding. "When I know, we can talk about it." She said as she watched him shake his head. "What?"

"You're not going to find the answer under a microscope, Bones… it's not going to be hidden in a box in Limbo… it's in your heart." He paused. "It's in there…" He said pointing to her chest. "Not there." He said, touching her head with his fingertips. He tilted his head for a moment, letting his hand run down her temple, her cheek, to her chin. He let it rest for a moment as he watched her lips trembling slightly. She had a look in her eyes that suggested that she had something that she wanted to say, but didn't know how to say it, and he took that moment of pause as an opportunity to lean forward slightly, tipping his head so that his lips could meet hers.

The moment their lips touched, he felt a sudden surge of electricity shooting through his body as she carefully placed her hand on his neck, pulling him closer to her for a moment as she kissed him back, a tender groan against his lips, and they parted, her lips wet and slightly swollen now from the contact. Her cheeks flushed as she swallowed hard, and Booth smiled. "I'll get your bag… help you inside." He whispered, watching her nod her head as she tried to quell the dizzy feeling that she had within it as he quickly exited the SUV, walked around the front and opened her door, helping her quickly and delicately into the building without another word spoken.


	23. Fix It!

Booth sat at his desk, shuffling through papers. He hadn't been in his office for very long, maybe two hours at most, and he was already tired of the work day. He glanced to his cell phone that was on his desk, the numbers of the time staring up at him as he sighed. He continued to write out the several forms that he needed to complete in order to wrap up his last case, and again glanced at the phone. He reached his hand out and swatted at it, flinging it halfway across his desk, glaring at it as if it were someone staring at him, watching his every move instead of vice versa.

He thought of his partner, the situation that they were in, and of the thoughts that must be running through her head. Concentration did not appear to be on the agenda for the day, for when he looked down at the form he was filling out, he found that it was nothing but random scrawls that he had made as he though, and nothing useable. He grunted as he crumpled the paper up, tossing it behind him, he glanced back to see it tumble into the wastebasket, sending a satisfied smirk across his lips. He turned around and nearly jumped when he saw the figure standing in his doorway. "Ange." He said, his eyebrows rising as he leaned on his desk. "What brings you over here?"

She didn't say anything, only stepped to the desk and leaned over it with an intimidating stare. "What did you do to my best friend?" She asked, a smile on her lips, but not one of humor, more maniacal than anything else.

"I'm sorry?" He said, unsure of what she was talking about, he needed her to go on so that he could assess the situation, though her defensive stance was making him feel a bit awkward. He played it like a pro, tipping his chair back he narrowed his eyes in confusion. "You're going to have to be just a little more specific."

"Brennan, Booth. Don't play games with me." She said with an irritated tone. "What did you do to her?"

"Angela, I told you everything… bathroom, mirror, crash… table, kick, crack." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Then why is she pacing around like a lion in a cage?" Angela asked with a snap.

"Lioness, Angela." He said, nodding his head. "I fell for that once… I've learned my lesson." He said with a satisfied smirk.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Angela asked as she shook her head. "What did you to her last night? She's mumbling and pacing… on crutches! She won't talk to me. Did you give her an ultimatum or something? Did you slam her head into something hard, or something? She's not acting normal, Booth."

"And it's my fault?" He asked, innocently. "Listen, Angela… Bones has her own way of dealing with things, okay? If she wants to talk about it, she will. If she doesn't… well, then maybe it's not your business." He shrugged.

"I don't want to force her to talk about it." She said, raising her eyebrows at the FBI agent. "I want you to tell me what happened." She said with a low, grating tone.

"Nothing. Happened." He replied. "I dropped her off at her apartment. She said she was going to get a ride in with you."

"And she did." Angela nodded. "She hobbled out to the car, mumbled 'thanks' and that was it." Angela replied. "We got to the lab, she went straight for her office, and she's been there ever since."

"Because she's doing her job." Booth replied. "Which was what I was trying to do before you came in here and started interrogating me…" he said, taking another sip of his coffee as he watched her over his mug.

"She told me about the foreplay, Booth." Angela said, eliciting the reaction she thought she'd get from him, with a snort and a slight spray of coffee out of his mouth.

"Angela…" he coughed, grabbing a tissue from the box beside him, he wiped the coffee off his face and checked his shirt. "Foreplay?" He coughed.

"That's what she calls it." Angela shrugged as she took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't know the details of what happened, Booth… and I don't need to know… yet. I will find out, though… and if I don't like it, it's going to be your head on a platter." She said as he narrowed his eyes at her. "You need to fix it, Booth… because right now, the best forensic anthropologist in the country is in her office mumbling nothing to no one… and it's your fault. Fix it, Booth." She said, turning sharply on her heel, she stomped angrily from the office, leaving Booth to stare after her, wondering to himself what he was going to do about the whole situation.

He looked down at the papers in front of him and sighed, writing a few more things, there was a knock at his door. "Agent Booth?" A young agent said from the doorway as Booth lifted his head. He stepped into the room and dropped a file onto the desk. "They found a body downtown… they need an ID." He said, watching the older agent sigh.

"Thanks." He said, watching the younger agent nod as he stood up and grabbed the file. He flipped it open for the address, grabbed his cell phone and started for the door. "Alright, Bones… let's get back to what we're good at." He said with a sigh, as he made his way out his office in search of his partner.


	24. It doesn't take much to convince

**I apologize about the slight hiatus there... i was on vacation... now, on with the show!**

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_**--------------------**_

Hodgins stood over his microscope staring at the same slide that he had been staring at for the past half hour. He had made his way to the platform when he had heard the familiar sound of Booth's shoes smacking into the floor as he made his way across the lab towards Doctor Brennan's office. He had seen her in her office when she and Angela had arrived, and his questions regarding her bandaged foot and crutches went unanswered with a glare from Angela as she shook her head to indicate that it wasn't the time for questions.

He had stayed at his station for most of the morning, into the afternoon as he worked on a few odds and ends that he had intended on finishing before Cam had gotten back from her vacation to the beach. Periodically, he'd glance over to Doctor Brennan's office and see her moving around the room, and she was quite active despite the large boot that she had come in with, her eyes affixed straight ahead as Angela rushed behind her talking, trying to get her attention. Angela had spent some time in Dr. Brennan's office, and then rushed quickly from the lab, without a word or a wave. Hodgins glanced to his boss's office and shook his head, watching her begin to pace, her eyes on the floor as she gripped the crutches tightly under her arms and ignored the fact that she was injured in order to continue her anxiety riddled habit, until about a half hour ago, when Booth had arrived.

Hodgins sighed as he listened to the sound of their voices carrying through the lab. The sounds of various machines and tests through the lab were but background noise to the almost nasally sound of his boss's voice, and the booming voice of the FBI agent that was addressing her. He smirked slightly at the playful sound in his voice, though he was fairly sure that Doctor Brennan was not in a good mood, and he didn't blame her. After all, she was wearing what looked to be a space boot on her foot, and a dose of Booth is all she needed in her day to make her just a little more agitated. He only wished that he could hear what they were saying, and was quite surprised when her office door slammed closed, and the shades had been drawn within.

_**---------------**_

"What are you doing?" Bones asked as she crossed her arms and fell back lightly into her chair, leaning the crutches against her desk as she looked up at her partner.

"Closing the door." He replied, leaning over to pull the cord on the shades.

"Why?" She said, giving him a suspicious glare as she looked up at him.

"Because we need to talk." He said, pulling a chair up to her desk, he leaned in and watched her avoid eye contact. "Come on, Bones." He said softly.

"I haven't made any decisions." She replied.

"That's fine." He shook his head. "I don't expect you to have any decisions made, Bones. It wouldn't be you if you didn't analyze every tiny detail to death."

"I am not sure that was a compliment." She said, giving him a scrutinizing glare.

"Anyway… let's get down to business, shall we? Maybe we can get things back to normal." He shrugged, waving the file folder in his hand, he tossed it onto her desk.

"Normal? Booth, I don't exactly think that examining human remains and chasing down bad guys can be defined as a normal activity by any stretch of imagination, unless of course, we were…"

"I mean 'normal' by our standards… what we do… our job… there's a body downtown, I need you to help me with this case. They're securing the site now. I came to pick you up." He replied.

"I can't go out into the field like this, Booth. I can't walk, let alone crouch or stand for a long period of time. You're going to have to take one of the interns on this one." She shook her head.

"You're kidding, right? One of your interns? That's like taking a water gun into combat! I need you, Bones… You're the one I need. Come on, I'll help you… just… come out into the field with me, please?" He said, tilting his head with a smile that made his eyes sparkle slightly, her eyes lifting from the file to his, and a smirk played at her lips as well while she shook her head. "I'll even carry you around on my back if you get tired…"

"I'm sure that wouldn't be odd looking at all." She replied, trying to hide the smirk on her lips.

"Come on, Bones. Unless you don't think you can handle it." He shrugged, sitting back in his chair, watching her mouth drop just slightly.

"Are you challenging me?" She asked, shaking her head as he nodded, the smirk never leaving his face.

"I may be challenging you… Are you not up for a challenge?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows as she shook her head and avoided eye contact. There was a slight blush to her cheeks, and he smiled, knowing that he had been the reason that she was blushing. "Come on, Bones… it's just another case… you, me… dead guy… if you're not there, we're not going to know who did it."

"My interns are perfectly capable of…"

"No, Bones." He said as he stood up and walked around her desk. He reached his hand out for her and watched her look up at him. "I want you." He said, if but a bit huskily though she wasn't sure if it was her imagination.

"Booth." She sighed.

"Bones." He replied.

She stared up at him, his expectant eyes, the tilt of his head. She could feel the heat in her cheeks as he beckoned her with his eyes, his hand reaching for her to grasp in order to help her to her feet. "How is your hand?" She asked, glancing to his other hand, the clean white bandage wrapped around the cuts, she stared at it for a moment.

"It's fine." He replied. "Bones?" He said, moving his fingers to beckon her once again. "There's a murder to solve."

"And I can only imagine that you're not going to leave me alone until I come with you to investigate it." She said, her voice that faux bored tone that she used on her partner, her eyes moving to his as she put her hand in his and allowed him to help her up. He leaned across her gently and grabbed the crutches, a waft of cologne sent her heart jumping as she took a deep breath and tried to compose herself, as she gripped his arm tightly until the crutches were in his hand. He leaned up and gave her a tender smile as he handed them to her, noting that her hand remained on his arm for just a split second longer than it had to, he watched her eyes avoid his suddenly and he smiled knowing that he had affected her. She grabbed the crutches and began walking in front of him toward the door, almost as if she were trying to make a getaway. Just as she swung the door open for herself, she glanced back to Booth as he caught up to her. "I'll go with you now… but I have a doctor appointment at three."

"We'll swing by there, after we go to the crime scene."

"Then we have to go to our appointment with Sweets."

"I'd rather go to the dentist."

"It won't be that bad… but we should probably figure out what we're going to tell him about our injuries." She replied.

"Bones… are you suggesting that we lie to our therapist?" He asked as they made their way through the lab together, seeing no one else, caught in their own conversation.

"Not… lie, but maybe there are certain aspects of what happened that we should keep out of the conversation." She shrugged.

"Lie by omission, gotcha." Booth nodded as they walked out of the lab and down the hallway towards the elevators. They stood beside one another in a comfortable silence as the doors opened in front of them.

"I want to drive." Brennan said indignantly as she moved into the elevator and turned around.

"You can barely walk." Booth said, walking into the elevator beside her, he laughed when she elbowed him in the side, and the elevator doors closed.


	25. AWOL

.

The walk to the Sequoia was in silence, and with a brief glance at Booth, Brennan noted that he wasn't rushing around the car to help her, so she smiled with satisfaction that things were, indeed getting 'back to normal'. She opened the door, lifting the crutches into the SUV, she watched Booth set them carefully into the back seat as she pulled herself into the vehicle, closing the door behind her. She caught his gaze for a split second as he immediately looked away and started the car, handing the folder to her as he drove.

"So the victim was found in the back seat of an abandoned car in a rental parking lot. VIN number came back to a registration of a guy that died three years ago… they say that he had been in the back seat for about two days…"

"Not many details in here…" She said, flipping through the papers in the folder, she glanced to him, and back to the folder.

"That's right… because just like always… we have to fill in all of the blanks." He said proudly as she nodded, still staring at the paper. The SUV was filled with silence suddenly, as he drove toward the crime scene, periodically glancing to his partner as she stared at the paper. He knew that she was a quick reader, that she had probably read over the paper over and over again, and he wondered for only a moment if it was because she was avoiding having to talk to him. He was just taking a breath to ask her a question, when she spoke first.

"You never did tell me why you came to my place the other night." She said, still staring at the paper as she watched his fingers dance over the steering wheel, and the breath that she had heard him take slowly.

"Huh?" He said, knowing exactly what she was talking about, but choosing to downplay the conversation just in case she decided to bolt. She was a brave woman, strong and resilient. He wouldn't put it past her to open the car door and roll out while going a mere forty five miles per hour just to get away from this particular conversation.

"The other night, Booth… when you came to my place… when all of this started?" She asked, knowing that 'all of this' had started long before he had burst into her bathroom, but that was the solid point where they could begin.

He could see by the tilt of her head and the way her finger was softly rubbing the edge of the paper that she wasn't reading it anymore. She was merely using it as a distraction, a reason for not looking him in the eyes as she interrogated him. Perhaps 'interrogation' was too harsh of a word to use, she thought.

Question?

Inquire?

"Why did I come to your place the other night?" He asked, glancing to her again, and then back out the window. "I wanted to make sure you were alright." He shrugged.

"Why wouldn't I have been alright? I was fine when I left the diner, fine after work. Why wouldn't I have been fine then? I do have a telephone, Booth. You could have called me."

"I tried calling you." He replied. "I found your cell phone in your couch cushions… and your home phone was far enough away, that you must not have heard it ringing?" He asked, watching her sink slightly in her seat, and fold the folder, her eyes now gazing out the window.

"You heard the phone ringing, didn't you?" He asked, watching her head nod softly. "So you heard the phone ringing, and you didn't answer?"

"I was in the bathtub, Booth." She said with an irritated growl. "I was in the bathtub…" She said again, mumbling under her breath.

"What was that?" His tone was slightly sarcastic as he waited for her to repeat the statement she had made.

"I was in the bathtub, and I knew it was you… and… and I knew it was you, that's all." She replied.

"So you knew it was me? So you knew why I was calling?" He asked as she nodded her head, still looking out the window.

"I had a feeling."

"Then why did you just ask me why I came looking for you?"

"Aren't we there yet?" She asked, shifting in her seat slightly as she sighed.

"Bones, Bones, Bones…" He said, shaking his head, the smirk on his lips never leaving it as he sighed.

"Cut it out, Booth." She replied, her demeanor becoming increasingly irritated with his gentle teasing.

He wanted to poke at her, prod answers from her, but chose to remain quiet for a few minutes. He drove quietly toward the rental lot, which was located along a commercial strip of property known for its car dealerships and restaurants. He pulled into the parking lot, where the flickering lights of the other FBI agent's cars flashed across their skin, and she glanced at him. "Why were we called out to a car lot anyway? I'm fairly sure that rental cars do not fall under federal jurisdiction." She said as he parked the car and she grabbed the handle to swing the door open.

"That's what I forgot to tell you, Bones." He said as he opened his own door and climbed from the SUV. "It was an undercover agent that was killed.

"An undercover agent?" She asked as she grabbed the crutches from the back, sliding from the seat, she looked up just as Booth appeared in front of her.

"He disappeared a month ago. The bureau thought he had gone AWOL." Booth said as he watched her step away from the car with the crutches. He turned and closed her door, turning to follow her toward the crime scene.

"Dead in the back of a car, a month after he disappeared?" Bones said, giving Booth a sideways smile as she maneuvered around the other agents. "I'd call that absent without leave." She said, smiling a little brighter when Booth grinned back at her and shook his head and laughed.


	26. The Set Up

**Just a transitional update... You'll see what's going on by the end of the next update entitled... 'The Delivery'**

-----

The initial viewing of the remains was as quick and easy as it always was. Bones stepped up to the car, determined that it was a murder, and ordered it all to be shipped to the Jeffersonian. Booth didn't even get a chance to see the body, the initial exam was so quick and easy. He stood back while Bones approached the car and did her thing, while the owner of the rental lot engaged him in conversation. She stood up and balanced on her good foot, looking over the car and shouted to him what she needed, he nodded and before they knew it, they were heading back to the Sequoia.

"So you're going to drop me off at the doctor's office?" She asked, climbing into the Sequoia, she noticed he was right behind her, grabbing her crutches as she landed in the seat.

"I'm not dropping you off anywhere. I can wait for you to finish." He said as he watched to make sure she was in the car securely, he closed the door and walked around the front with the crutches. He opened the driver's side door and slipped the crutches into the back seat before climbing in himself. He watched her eyes on him and gave her a confused glance. "What's that look for?"

"You're not going to drop me off anywhere? Booth… You don't have to stick around for a doctor's appointment. I can take a taxi." She replied as Booth shook his head.

"You don't have to take a taxi. We're both going to Sweets' office after your appointment. I'll just work on some leads by phone… I have my laptop… I can wait for you. It's not a problem." He said with a kind smile, she scrutinized him for a moment, her features softening as she nodded. "Okay?" he asked, noticing her nod just a little more as he gave her a half smile.

"Do you mind if…" She started as she noticed that his attention was completely on her, his hand on the car's shifter as he watched her, and she was taken slightly aback by this attention. Typically, they were always on the go, always moving, always going somewhere. For him to stop and listen, was something very odd and different for Brennan, and she savored that moment for just an extra second before completing her thought. "Do you mind if we stop at my place for a minute… I should change." She said, noting the smile in his eyes as he nodded his head, and turned his attention to the task at hand, getting them to their destinations.

The drive to the apartment was filled with comfortable banter about the new case. The excitement in each of their voices was evident, as was an additional warmth that could be felt between them. Brennan was unsure if her cheeks were burning, or if it was just warm in the car. She swallowed hard as they approached her apartment, her hand on the handle as he pulled up in front of her building. She turned to grab her crutches, and found that he had already pulled them into the front. She gave him a quick smile and grabbed them as she swung the door open. "Thank you." She said softly as she pulled herself from the car, grabbed the crutches, and made her way expertly toward her apartment.

He waited patiently for her to return, and didn't have to wait long. Her hair was now let loose from it's previous ponytail, and she had slipped into a pair of jeans that hugged her hips in just the right places. He swallowed hard as she moved toward the car, leaning herself against the side, he opened his door to help, just as she opened her door. "I don't need help, Booth." She said quickly. "I've got it." She said, sliding the crutches into the car, she hopped onto her seat, being careful not to hit her foot on anything.

"You act like a pro with that broken foot." He remarked as she closed the door behind her.

"To be honest, it's not the first time I've broken my foot." She replied as Booth nodded his head in surprise, putting the car into drive, he headed toward her doctor's office.

"So you make it a habit to announce your feelings to men through disgruntled means?" He asked with a bit of humor in his voice, watching her head snap in his direction, he was not prepared for the glare that met his gaze. Her jaw dropped slightly as she swallowed hard, sat back in her seat and stared out the window. She remained silent while he drove to the doctor's office, and climbed from the seat without a word or a glance. "Bones. Hey, Bones… I was kidding."

"It shouldn't take me very long." She said as she pulled the crutches from the back, narrowly hitting him in the head with the end of one of them, she gave him a purposeful glance that insisted that missing him was on purpose. She swallowed hard and slammed the door behind her, making her way toward the doctor's office while Booth sat in the SUV, wondering to himself why he insisted on making inappropriate comments that would only make her angrier.

It was almost an hour later when he looked up to see her hobbling toward the car once again. She still had the air cast on, so he figured that the doctor hadn't needed to make any changes as far as putting a hard cast on her foot, and her eyes held a slightly pained look as he pulled the SUV around to the doors to pick her up. She swung the door open and tossed the crutches inside haphazardly, nearly hitting him with them. "Hey… be careful there, Bones… you're going to take out an eye." He said, listening to her mumble something under her breath as she lifted herself into the car, she buckled her seatbelt. "How did it go?" He asked, trying to keep the conversation light, and not make another mistake.

"Fine." She said with a sigh.

"So… did the doctor tell you anything different?" He asked curiously, watching her eyes meet his in a challenging stare. "Okay…" He nodded as he pulled the car from the front of the building. He sighed to himself, and drove them toward FBI headquarters, and their inevitable meeting with Sweets.


	27. Delivery

**HI READERS! :)**

**Just a little FYI... some friends of mine and I have begun a Bones message board... Right now it's only bare bones (haha... funny... i know... i rolled my eyes too.) If youre interested in posting or anything, feel free... come over, check out the site... let us know what you think... there's a cbox, fanfic section, a separate section for one shots, chat sections... well... i mean... come on over... if you search for 'Gormogonsvault' on google, you can find it. or type in Gormogonsvault (dot) forumer (dot) com. :) I hope you're enjoying the fic! :)**

**Colleen. :)**

----------

As soon as the SUV was pulled into park, Brennan's door was opened, and her arm was reaching back for the crutches. "Bones… let me get that for you."

"I have it, Booth." She said with a snap as she swung the crutches around, nearly hitting him in the head with them as she slid from the seat, situated herself on the crutches, and started to hobble away from the SUV very quickly, leaving the door wide open as she made her way toward the elevator. Booth walked around the car and slammed the door on the SUV. He then turned to see Brennan entering the garage elevator, pressing the button to go up. He rushed to make it, but wasn't able to get there before the doors closed on him.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Booth exclaimed as he slammed his hand into the elevator button and narrowed his eyes as he stared at his reflection in the metal doors, waiting for the elevator to return.

----------

Brennan walked off the elevator on the crutches, moving quickly down the hallway toward Sweets' office. She turned the corner and looked to the woman sitting at the desk at the start of the hallway. She looked up at Brennan and smiled. "Doctor Brennan… oh… what happened to your foot?" She asked with concern as Brennan shrugged.

"It's kind of a long story… I'm here for my appointment with Doctor Sweets." She said, watching the assistant nod her head, she glanced toward the door and after a moment, she was waved down the hallway toward their therapist's office.

-----------

Sweets rearranged several of the papers on his desk, clearing a space on its surface to place his notepad, as he waited for Doctor Brennan to arrive. The assistant had only announced that Doctor Brennan was there, which he found odd. Typically, she announces that both Doctor Brennan and Agent Booth have arrived together, but he found that as soon as the door opened, his suspicions had been correct. In fact, Doctor Brennan had breezed into the room so quickly, that he hadn't even noticed that she was on crutches until she set them beside her against the couch.

"Doctor Brennan." Sweets said with a slight smile, watching her eyebrows rise slightly as she gave him a polite smile.

"Doctor Sweets."

"Whoa, what happened to your foot?" He asked, leaning forward over his desk, he looked up at her as she tilted her head, crossing her legs, her hands placed comfortably together as she sighed.

"You'll have to…" She paused as the door swung open and Booth came barreling inside. "You'll have to ask him." She said, looking up at her partner as he gave her a confused glance, and looked to their therapist, and then back to his partner.

"Geez, Bones… you couldn't even hold the elevator for me?"

"We had an appointment." She said, watching as her partner sat beside her on the small couch, she moved slightly away from him, a movement that did not go unnoticed by the trained eye of the therapist.

"Yeah… but I thought we'd come in together, you know? Partner's therapy… we come in as partners?" He said as she rolled her eyes and sighed, looking away from her partner.

"Agent Booth… it's nice of you to join us…" Sweets said with a polite smile as Booth gave him an irritated glare and put most of his attention on his partner, making it as if he were invisible, and he would have felt that way if Doctor Brennan wasn't staring directly at him.

"Bones?" Booth said, the look of confusion in his eyes was obvious as she stared at the therapist intently.

"Agent Booth, Doctor Brennan was just about to talk to me about what happened to her foot." Sweets said as Booth's eyes were now on the therapist.

"He pushed me." Brennan said point blankly. Her eyes never wavered for a moment as Booth nearly fell off the couch.

"What? I did not push you!" He exclaimed, standing up, he looked down at her as she sighed.

"Agent Booth… please sit down." Sweets said, very interested in the conversation and the strange behavior of his two clients today. Several things were off, and he wasn't exactly sure how to assess them. Booth stood over the couch in a combative position, his hand was bandaged, his eyes were directly on his partner as she sat and stared at the therapist for a moment, her head turning to look up into her partner's eyes.

"I did not push her!" He exclaimed, looking to the couch as if it had burned him, his reaction was turning from confusion to anger very quickly. "Bones, why would you say that?"

"Because you pushed me." She said as she watched him for a moment, turning back to Sweets, she swallowed and sighed. "And he hurt his hand at my apartment… after he barged in while I was trying to take a bath." She said quickly.

"This is not as bad as it sounds!" Booth exclaimed. "It was innocent, purely innocent…"

"Barging into your partner's apartment is purely innocent?" Sweets asked, extremely alarmed at the admission from the anthropologist, and the clear denial from the FBI agent.

"My bathroom! He charged into my apartment, and my bathroom…" Brennan replied, looking up at Booth, she could see that he was feeling betrayed by her accusations, and she closed her mouth before she went further. "It has been a very, very long weekend." She huffed as she looked back at Sweets and shook her head.

"Wait, wait… you were taking a bath, Doctor Brennan… and… Agent Booth charged into your bathroom?" Sweets asked, completely blown away by the story, his hand flying over the paper in front of him.

"I did not… I… Stop writing things down… Sweets… It was purely innocent, and I can explain, if you just let me explain… stop writing!" He exclaimed as he reached to grab the pen from the therapist, Sweets looked up at him, and could see that he was falling apart. He looked anxious and upset, angry. He almost didn't know if he should stay, or leave. He stepped back from the desk as Sweets swatted at his hand.

"Agent Booth… please sit down." Sweets said, as Booth gritted his teeth and turned, sitting down on the couch beside his partner, he refused to look at her as he felt her eyes on him. "Now… let's just take this one step at a time, okay? There's no need to get upset, this… incident…"

"Accident." Booth corrected, watching Sweets give him a coddling nod.

"This… incident..." He said again, bringing the conversation back into his court once more. "Is obviously something that has you both very upset."

"I'm not upset." Brennan said seriously. "I just want boundaries." She replied.

"Bones!" Booth exclaimed, completely confused at her reaction to all of this, and her admission to Sweets.

"Agent Booth, Doctor Brennan brings up an important point… boundaries… " He said as Booth glared at him. "You two have been working very closely together for a long time now. You've experienced a lot of pain, a lot of… fear together… perhaps the closeness has given you certain… expectations, Agent Booth… that manifestation may explain your actions in the case of breaking into Doctor Brennan's apartment." Sweets said softly.

"I didn't break into her apartment, okay? The keys were in the door! She didn't answer the phone, so I went to look for her… when I found her, she was…"

"Naked." Brennan said with a completely straight face.

"Bones!"

"I was! I was in the bathtub!" She exclaimed. "Now I'm not saying I'm a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but for you to come barging into my bathroom and…"

"You know what? This conversation is going nowhere, very, very fast… and I don't think I can deal with this right now." Booth said as he sat up straight, preparing to stand up. "So… you two…" He said, waving his hand between Sweets and Brennan. "You two can have your little… bash Booth party alone, okay? Because I have work to do…" He said as he stood up and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Brennan turned her eyes to meet Sweets', who looked very surprised by Booth's outburst. "I um…" She said, pointing her thumb toward the door.

"Maybe you should… um…"

"I should probably… go …I should probably go talk to him." She said, nodding her head, giving Sweets a feigned expression of pain.

"Probably, you… yeah, you should probably go… and…"

"I apologize for all of this… Booth and I… we're going to work on boundaries… and um…"

"That's fine, that's fine… I'll see you next week, Dr. Brennan."

"Thank you, Dr. Sweets." She said as she grabbed her crutches and stood up with them, nodding to Sweets as he stood up and held the door for her as she made her way out the door and down the hallway as quickly as she could in the direction of Booth's office.

----------------

Booth swung open his office door and started to pace immediately. He was internally yelling at himself for allowing Bones to go into Sweets' office without talking to her about everything first. He found that he was so frustrated, that he just wanted to hit something. He turned his head to see his partner hobbling down the hallway on her crutches, and let out an audible groan as he moved around his desk and slammed into his chair unceremoniously. He turned it on its swivel to face the door, and she pushed open the door with her crutch.

She stepped inside, and immediately she could feel the tension that he had been building up since he had stormed out of Sweets' office. "What is your problem?" She asked, loudly, her eyes were wide with questions, her head shaking in disdain as Booth stood up suddenly.

"What is my problem? What is MY problem? What is YOUR problem?" He exclaimed as he stalked out from behind his desk. He glanced out the window and noted that a lot of other agents who were passing by were glancing in the direction of his office.

"What do you mean, what is 'my' problem? You were the one that stormed out of Dr. Sweets' office!" She exclaimed as she watched him stalk around the room, pulling angrily on the curtains to close them off from the inquiring glares of his fellow agents.

"What the hell were you doing in there, Bones? I didn't push you! Why would you tell Sweets that I pushed you? Why would you do that? What the hell were you thinking? I mean, it's like someone reached into your skull and pulled your brain out, and replaced it with one from a total imbecile!" he shouted.

"That's physiologically impossible, Booth." She said in her hyper-rational tone, a tone that never ceased to make Booth's eyes roll.

"Shut up, Bones… just… shut up!" He shouted, angrily confronting her face to face. He found himself standing nose to nose with her as he breathed heavily in anger, and she stood, stoic and strong, staring into his eyes.

"So?" She said, swallowing hard as she watched his chest heave in anger, she moved her eyes from his lips back to his eyes. "Have you made your decision yet?"

"What decision?" He asked, his teeth still clenched as tightly as his fist.

"Are you going to kiss me… or are you going to kill me?" She asked, tilting her head just slightly as a slow half smirk rose onto her lips, her eyebrows raised, and her lower lip slipped between her teeth as she stood and waited for his answer.


	28. Backdraft

Booth felt his breath catch in his throat, and for a split second he thought about what he could do. The playful look in her eyes was almost too much to resist. It was almost too difficult for him to do it, but he knew that he had to. He knew that he couldn't fall into the trap. His mouth had gone slightly slack at her question, and he watched her head tilt a little more, and knew that if she said one more word, he wouldn't be able to do what he knew that he had to do.

"We have a murderer to catch, Bones." He said, clearing his throat. He swallowed hard when he saw the look of hurt in her eyes. "The mind games are going to have to wait until later." He said, and he turned toward the door.

"Booth?" She called after him, watching him swing the door open and storm through it, heading toward the elevator. "Booth?" She said again as she swung the door open with her crutch, and made her way down the hallway quickly toward him. "Booth, wait." She said as she watched him get into the elevator. He turned around and gave her a slight glare as he reached for the button. "Please!" She exclaimed as he lifted his hand off the button and sighed, stepping to the side, she slipped into the elevator before the doors closed. She turned as she got inside, standing beside him, she glanced over at him as he stared at the metal doors closing before him.

"So are you done?" He asked, looking at her through her reflection in the doors as she looked up at him.

"Done?"

"Are you done making me look like a total ass, Bones?" Booth asked.

"Booth, I wasn't trying to make you look like an ass… I was just… I had made a decision, and I wanted to keep Sweets off the trail." She said, watching her partner shake his head as the elevator doors opened.

"There are easier ways to do that, Bones. There are ways that aren't going to include making me look like the biggest asshole that walked on the planet." He said as he stalked out of the elevator toward the car.

"Booth, I was… Booth, I'm sorry… I…"

"No. It's enough, I've had enough… I'm finished with it right now. We have a murder to solve, and I really don't want to talk about this anymore."

"But Booth, I made a decision… I was trying to let you know that I…"

"It doesn't matter right now, Bones." He said as he turned sharply, feeling her nearly smash into him as he caught her before she fell over. He immediately saw that her eyes were filled with concern, and he felt guilty for walking away, but he also knew that if she was going to play games like what she had done in Sweets' office, this wasn't going to work. "Do you understand why I am upset, Bones?" He asked, watching her nod her head and open her mouth. "No… no, no… we're not taking this conversation there now… not now, not when we have work to do." He said as he turned and walked toward the car again.

"Why? Why can't we talk about it now, Booth? We don't have the facts on the case yet… we can talk about this now… there's time before we get involved in the case." She said as she approached the passenger side of the car, she listened for the door to unlock and opened it.

"Because… we're already involved in the case, Bones… we don't need this to complicate things further."

"It's not complicated, Booth… You're interested in me, I'm interested in you… and we don't have to worry about our shrink finding out about us." She shrugged.

"That's because he thinks I'm trying to murder you!" He exclaimed as he climbed into the car and grabbed the crutches from her hand as she got into her seat. He tossed them into the back seat and started the car.

"Well, wouldn't you rather have him think that, than know the truth?"

"Truth?" He said with almost a snicker. "What truth? I am going to murder you!" He said with an irritated tone, watching her jaw drop as he continued to drive.

"So you've made your decision." She said, turning her attention to the window after a moment, her shoulders slouching slightly as she suddenly felt a warm hand take hers. She refused to look up at him as she accepted his tender peace offering.

"Temperance?" He whispered. His voice was soft and soothing, and for a moment she refused to look at him. "Hey… come on… I was joking."

"Isn't a joke meant to illicit laughter, and not feelings of inadequacy and rejection?" She asked, raising her eyebrows as she turned her attention to him. His lips held a soft smile, his head tilting slightly as he kept his attention on both the road, and her.

"Typically." He nodded.

"I'm not laughing." She mumbled, sighing as she attempted to avoid his twinkling eyes.

"We'll talk about all of this… all of it… but right now we have a case." He said, watching her nod her head as she turned her attention back to the window. "And Temperance…" He said, waiting for her to look in his direction. He paused until she looked over at him. "The next time you have a plan… you should probably let me in on it."

"If I let you in on it, you would have messed it up… You are a very bad actor."

"I am not a bad actor! I'm a terrific actor! I go undercover all the time…"

"And sometimes, I think that you overact."

"Overact? Me, overact? You're the one that insists on having a different accent every time we go undercover… You're the one that makes things up as we go along!" he argued.

"I do not."

"Yes you do! You called me a bad actor… I'm not a bad actor, I'm a fantastic actor… I could be on Broadway, I'm such a fantastic actor."

"You know, traditionally, stage actors have always been considered to 'over act'. Their speeches and dialogue must reach the many corners of an incredibly large auditorium. In Ancient Greek times, the venues were designed to echo and project an actor's voice because they had no aid of sound systems or microphones. Makeup was often overdone as to accentuate a person's features dramatically in order for those who were seated farthest away to be able to discern…Booth? Are you mocking me?"

"Nope." He said, closing his mouth as he continued to drive.

"Well, it's nice to know that you're not acting childish about this." She said as she pulled her hand from his, sending him a glare out of the corner of her eye, she shook her head as she watched the corner of his lip turn up in a half smile.

This was going to be a very, very long case.


	29. Back to Normal

5:30pm-

The body had come in almost fifteen minutes earlier and Hodgins remained in his work station, glancing across the room at Angela as she looked back at him, and then quickly looked down, avoiding eye contact once again. They hadn't heard anything from Booth or Dr. Brennan since they had left to go get the body, and Hodgins wasn't quite sure that both of them would come back alive the way they had been bickering when they had left. In his honest opinion, everyone was acting a little bit strange, and he wasn't sure how to take it.

He glanced at his computer when suddenly a message popped up on his screen. He recognized the screenname immediately and glanced up at Angela whose eyes were glued to the screen.

_'Have you heard from Brennan?'_ She asked, the question was simple enough, though Hodgins wasn't quite sure why she had chosen to ask him through the computer instead of walking over to him from the other side of the room.

_'Not since they flew out of here like an eagle to it's prey.'_ Hodgins replied, shaking his head as he replied, his eyes looking up at Angela as she glanced across the room at him, turning her eyes away from him again. _'You're avoiding me.'_ He said plainly, waiting for her to reply. He sat for a long moment, listening for the sound of the clicking of the keyboard across the lab, hearing nothing. He sighed after a moment, turning his head, he heard the soft beep of the computer indicating a message.

_'Don't look away when I'm thinking of an excuse for avoiding you.'_ It said in response to his inquiry. A smile spread across his face as he looked across at Angela, catching that playful glint in her eye, he was about to get up and move toward her, when Booth's booming voice interrupted their stare.

"Because that's not the way it works, Bones!" Booth exclaimed as he walked heavily into the lab, looking around, he saw Hodgins and Angela exchange a look. "What is this? The body is here, and you two are staring at one another across the room like a couple of stunned antelope? How are we going to ID this guy if you two are…"

"Booth, leave them alone, they're my people, not your people…and they're not even mine, technically… so just… leave them alone."

"The body is over here, Bones…" Booth said as she passed him on her crutches. She looked aggravated and sore, and she made her way toward her office.

"I'm very aware of where the platform is, Booth. Thank you for your thoughtful insight and visual expertise." She spouted as she rolled her eyes and disappeared behind the door of her office.

"Bones… we're supposed to be IDing the body! Where are you going?" He exclaimed as he followed after her, visibly frustrated by her avoidance.

"You know who the body is already, Booth. We already did the identification."

"Fine. Cause of death! Why are you in your office?" He asked as he stepped inside behind her, watching her swing around the desk, she shoved the crutches in her hands at Booth, leaning against her desk, she grabbed her lab coat, pulled it on quickly.

"Protocol, Booth… Why do you act like this is your first case? There is protocol… there was still flesh on the body, so we're going to have to work on that… Hodgins needs to get any particulates or bugs from the remains, and Angela should be doing a reconstruction… so that we can find cause of death, and why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like I just came off the ship."

"Boat, Bones… it's 'Right off the Boat', and I'm not looking at you like anything… I'm just… nothing, it's nothing." He said as he turned. "I'm going back to the office, let me know when you have something." He said as he turned for the door.

"Booth, wait." She said, grabbing his arm as she hopped on one foot toward him. He glanced at her hand on his arm and smirked slightly. "Close the door." She said, nodding at the door.

"Bones."

"They can hear everything if the door is open." She whispered.

"And closing the door only makes them more suspicious." He whispered back.

"Then slam the door." She said, watching him shake her head, her jaw set, and she hopped toward the door and turned. "I SWEAR, BOOTH!" She exclaimed, slamming her hand into the door, she sent it slamming, the sound echoing through the lab. "Do you think they got the point?" She asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"I think they got the point over at the Pentagon, Bones… did you really need to close the door 'that' hard?" He asked as he grabbed her arm as she tried to steady herself. "Come on…here…" he said as she hopped back on one foot toward her desk, she held his arm tightly as he steered her toward her chair. "Sit down…"

"I'm fine, Booth… just… let me lean against my…"

"Don't make me pick you up and put you in that chair, Bones. Sit."

"I am not a dog, Booth. I know what I can and can't…" She started to argue as he let go of her arm, grabbed her chair and pushed it toward her, sending her backwards into it hard, she looked up at him. "do…" She glared playfully at him as he rolled her across the room toward the other chairs in her office. He turned her to face the chair, and sat down in the chair that faced him.

"Okay… talk." He said, leaning back in the chair, he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Talk? Talk about what? The case? We do have a set of remains out there that we…"

"No, Bones… we're taking this moment as an opportunity for you to tell me what you want… you said you've made a decision." He replied.

"I did?"

"Bones." Booth replied, shaking his head.

"I did." She said, nodding her head. "I did make a decision…" She said as she glanced to the door. "I don't…want this to ruin our partnership, though." She said, moving her hand between the two of them. "I don't want it to hurt what we've worked so hard to have."

"Bones… listen… you and I have been working together for years… and for years… we've held in the feelings that we have for one another, right?" He leaned forward slightly.

"Yes."

"And right now… those feelings are… nice… nice feelings, right? You…feel…"

"Nice." She replied, nodding, shrugging.

"You don't get it…" He said, sitting back hard on the chair.

"What?" She asked, offended that he hadn't gone any farther. "What don't I get? You didn't say anything!" She exclaimed.

"I don't want to start something between us with the initial conversation being what would happen if it didn't work out." He stated plainly. He watched her eyes on his, the blue pools reflecting back at him as her pupils dilated slightly, just a simple, tiny, miniscule change and he was aware of it. She was thinking. She was thinking, and once again, he was held hostage by her thoughts as he tried with all of his strength to read her. Some people were as easy to read as a picture book, but Temperance Brennan was as difficult to read as a book filled with ancient Greek lettering sometimes. He watched her nose twitch slightly, the corners of her mouth twitched also, sending his attention to them for a split second, and when he looked back to her eyes once more, the thoughtful look within them was gone.

"Why focus on the future when there is no telling what lies there?" She asked, a literal person asking a rhetorical question. It almost didn't make sense coming from her lips, in her voice, expressed by her eyes.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you're right." She nodded. "Our partnership has been through many… changes… we're strong people… why should we worry about the future of our partnership when we have absolutely no idea what is going to affect it." She paused. "Except." She said, pointing at Booth for a moment. "Except that… we do need to think about what everyone else is going to do… Sweets… Angela, Cam… Your boss… We shouldn't tell them anything at first… not until we get this figured out… not until we know what is going on between us." She replied.

"It's not their business."

"No… no, it's not." She said, tilting her head. "But… what if they try to make it their business…?" She whispered.

"Then it's up to us… to get that thought out of their head." He said seriously as she nodded her head as if she knew what he was getting at.

"And how… do we do that?" She asked, hanging on his every word as he smirked back at her and shook his head.

"Act normal, Bones." He sat up. "We just act normal."

"Normal for us." She nodded, looking for an affirmation from Booth, who nodded back at her.

"Exactly." He said with a nod. "That means… no more overacting, Bones… no more lying to Sweets… no more door slamming just to talk… we're alone enough to get any talking we need done outside the office…"

"One more thing." She said as she watched his eyebrows raise in question as he watched her eyes carefully.

"What, Bones?" He asked with a sigh.

"Are we… avoiding people… or are we just letting them figure it out on their own?" She asked innocently.

"Just let them figure it out on their own…they're big girls and boys… and when they see nothing is going to change, they'll go with it."

"Angela is going to freak out."

"Yeah, she probably will." Booth chuckled to himself as he looked toward the door and back at Bones. "So…" he said as he shrugged. "I'm going to go back to the office… let me know when the squints have any leads?" He asked, watching her nod her head. "Maybe… we can catch a movie… or… dinner or something tonight." He shrugged.

"I'd like that." She nodded with a smile as he stood up, reaching his hand for her, she grabbed hold of it and let him pull her to her good foot, balancing against him as she glanced back at her crutches.

"You'd like that?" He said with a playful smile, that he noticed had immediately made her blush and look away from him. "Bones is shy…" he said in a tone that was almost teasing, but filled with affection.

"I have to get to work, Booth…get started with…the examination of the remains…" She said as she tried to turn away from him, feeling his gentle grip on her arm as he refused to let go just yet. "What?" She said with a shy smile that almost made him blush.

"Just one?" He asked, watching her eyes lift to his as she lifted her eyebrows and smiled.

"Just one?" She said, her eyes glancing toward the door.

"One." He said again, getting her attention back.

"Fine." She said, her eyes flashing toward the door and back at him again. "One." She whispered, leaning forward, she placed her lips on his, instantly letting out just a hint of a groan that made his knees feel just a little weaker, and his grip on her arm a little tighter, as he listened to the sound of their lips separate, the pressure of her lips remained, even as she was looking at him, his face flushed slightly. He took a deep breath, and so did Bones, as she felt him take a step backwards, loosening his grip on her arm.

"I should…"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I'll… give you a call… it's… almost six… maybe…"

"Eightish?"

"Yeah." She replied, turning and hopping toward her desk on her good foot, she leaned down and grabbed her crutches. "Eightish…sounds good, sounds good…" She stammered slightly as she watched him take a step backwards toward the door. "See you…"

"Eightish." He nodded, watching her nod, as he turned and walked out of the office quickly, trying to act as normal as he could as he passed the platform on his way out the door.

Brennan took a moment to compose herself in her office. She took a deep breath and chanted 'normal' again and again in her head as she looked up at the movement in her doorway. Hodgins stood with a perplexed look on his face and she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Is something wrong with Booth?" He asked innocently, his eyes revealing knowledge of nothing, only holding a bit of concern.

"No… why?" Brennan asked as she walked toward the door, straightening her lab coat as she approached Hodgins.

"Well… it was really weird… he was leaving… and he said 'goodbye' to me… Booth rarely talks to me at all, let alone…"

"Hodgins…" Brennan shook her head as she put her card through the scanner on the platform and climbed the steps. "Don't worry about it." She said as she approached the body quickly, mentally preparing herself for the task at hand.


	30. Just Me

**_Okay, so I've never established a timeline or when this falls within the show... so really... bear with me, it's AU... so whatever I mention happened, happened... If I dont mention it, it doesnt mean that it didn't happen... it just means that I'm writing update to update :) . I'm not exactly sure where Hodgins and Angela are in their relationship, but they were together for a bit before the 'story' began, so nothing is solid with their past either... I hope you enjoy... and i look forward to your comments if you have a free second to let me know what you think. Thanks! :)_**

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7:53 PM-

Temperance Brennan hated to be late. Her life was filled with timelines, deadlines, and various other lines that she had always felt were very important to adhere to, to meet, to focus upon. They were solid, impenetrable lines that she always kept in focus through every second of every day, using them to shape her days, her weeks, her every moment in order to make the most of the time that she had in order to get her work completed. As eight o'clock approached, her coworkers noted that she was becoming quite anxious, agitated, and she swiftly made her way across the lab without her lab coat on, her crutches tucked beneath her arms.

"Where are you rushing off to?" Angela asked as she watched Brennan's eyes move to meet hers, her friend's playful glance was begging of an answer, and a split second passed before Angela stood straighter and tipped her head. "Bren?"

"Huh?" She said with widened eyes, unsure of exactly what to say, the case was still in its early stages, and they didn't have much to go on just yet, so it wasn't strange for her to be leaving the lab earlier than usual.

"Where are you going…? Are you okay? You look a little flushed…"

"I think… it's the medication… that the doctor gave me this afternoon… I'm just… I'm hungry… tired."

"Are you taking a taxi home or something? Do you need a ride?"

"No." She said quickly, trying to recover her composure. "No, I mean… Booth is taking me home… he was going to give me some background information into the victim… we don't really have anything new, but he is going to be interrogating a suspect in the morning and wanted to run down the information with me." She said coolly, watching Angela nod her head.

"Hmm…" She sighed. "Alright… you can make it down to the garage okay?"

"I'll be fine, Ange." She replied, already beginning to hobble away. "Thanks." She said, making her way toward the door.

"Escape, Bren." Angela called as her friend turned around and gave her a confused look. "The perfume you're wearing." She said with a knowing smile that sent Brennan's head shaking.

"You're imagining things, Ange." She said, shaking her head, she continued out the door and down the hallway toward the elevators.

Angela stood for a moment, and then turned to make her way toward her office, when she nearly ran right into Hodgins as he approached her. "Woah…" She said, smiling at the near collision, she dodged him and turned, walking backwards as she smiled. "Sorry about that…"

"It's okay." Hodgins said, chuckling. "There are worse people to run into around here. You getting out of here?" He asked, catching her eyes with his.

"Yeah… do you want to go get a bite or something?" Angela asked.

"Sure." He grinned, his blue eyes sparkling as he set the petri dish in his hands down. "Let me get this cleaned up… change… I'll meet you at the diner?" He asked, smiling as Angela nodded and returned his smile, watching for a second more before she moved toward her office to get ready to go.

-------------

Headlines, deadlines, timelines, lines of questioning. Every day of her life, Temperance Brennan dealt with a new line, a different line, a guide, a barricade, or just a simple turn of phrase. There were lines that were crossed, and some that she had never even thought of approaching, and without her even knowing it, the line that she and her partner had drawn to separate their personal and professional life was blurring as if it were drawn in the sand with the tide roaring in on the beach as they held their backs to the wind and finally let the sun warm their faces in its heat.

Brennan stood in the elevator waiting for it to arrive at the garage floor, she took a slow, deep breath and suddenly realized that she was actually nervous. She tried to remind herself that she was meeting up with Booth. He was her partner, her best friend, confidant, Booth… a constant in her life, and the one person other than Angela that she knew would not betray her trust, would not let her down if he could help it. She tried to shake off the anxious feeling in her stomach and tried to concentrate on the issue at hand, and just as she was relaxing, the doors opened, and she was immediately greeted by the grinning face of Seeley Booth.

"Hey Bones." He said, watching her eyebrow lift in curiosity. "I was just coming to get you."

"You said eightish." She replied. "I thought it would be easier to just meet you here." She said, moving beside him. She watched as he took a step to his side to give her some room, and the two of them made their way to the Sequoia together.

"You mean you didn't want to watch me over act." He said, air quoting the last two words as she shook her head and laughed a friendly laugh.

"Right." She nodded in agreement, watching him scoff slightly at her reply, only to see that he was teasing her. "So where are we going?" She asked as him as she walked toward her door, noticing that he was right behind her. He reached for the handle. "You don't have to open the door for me, Booth… I can do it myself… I am perfectly capable of…"

"I'm being a gentleman, Bones, so get in the car and shut yer trap." He teased as she opened her mouth to protest and laugh as the door opened before her. He took her crutches from her as she steadied herself on the door.

"Oh! That was very gentlemanly!" She laughed, shaking her head as she climbed into the SUV carefully. Her eyes met his for a split second, and she could feel herself blush slightly, a warmth in her face that she hadn't expected. It seemed almost as if her body was doing its own thinking, while her brain tried desperately to remain in control. Booth looked to make sure she was in her seat, and closed the door carefully. He walked around to the other side of the car and climbed in, noting that her nose was already in the folder that he had placed on the center console.

"Nosy, nosy, nosy…" He said as he grabbed the folder from her hands, her hands moving for it in protest, dropping her jaw as she grabbed for it.

"Booth! That's about our case!"

"Yes, so? No work talk…" He said, taking the folder and tucking it into the pocket in the side of the door.

"Come on Booth, that information is pertinent to the investigation. I need to look at it." She said indignantly.

"And you will look at it… after dinner… or whatever…"

"Or whatever? What does that mean?"

"We haven't decided what we want to do yet." He said, glancing to her. "Where do you want to eat?"

"I don't know…"

"Me neither…"

"You mean you didn't have some sort of elaborate plan that you've been working on for the three years that we've been working together on what you'd do with me once you were finally given permission to court me?"

"Whoa, whoa, Court you? What are you, a basketball?"

"Date."

"And what's this whole 'permission' thing? I didn't ask for permission… Was I supposed to ask permission?"

"Nevermind, Booth… can we just stop… arguing, and just go to dinner?"

"Fine." He nodded. "Dinner."

"Fine." She nodded, looking straight ahead, glancing over at her partner nervously as he pulled the car from its parking space and made his way through the parking garage.

He was silent.

She was silent.

The only sounds that they did hear was the sound of the tires on the wet pavement as he drove through the streets of Washington D.C., and the sound of their own breathing as they worked through the avalanche of thoughts that was tumbling haphazardly through their minds. Her lower lip had slipped in between her teeth, her eyes focused on the windshield wipers as they passed in her vision at regular intervals. His eyes were on the road, making his way through the early evening traffic of the city. He could see her hand, rapping nervously on the center console. There was no sound, her soft fingertips rubbing against the plastic anxiously. Before his brain could catch up with his body, however, he had tenderly placed his hand atop hers and entwined her fingertips within his hand, just as he pulled to a stop at a stop light. His eyes then caught hers, and for a second he was speechless as the wide eyes of his partner met his, and watched her mouth open as she took a sharp intake of breath, and an expression of fear cross her face and disappear behind a mask of question.

"Bones…" He said softly, when he was finally able to find where his voice had hidden. "You don't have to be nervous." He said, his shoulder lifting slightly in a shrug, his lips curled into a smile as it moved its way to his eyes until they were smiling too. "It's just me...." He said, watching her release the tender breath that she was holding, and the line across her forehead that had appeared in her moment of fear melted away. "It's just me, Bones." He said again, his words full of reassuring tenderness that never failed to calm her, even when his closeness was a part of that uncertainty.


	31. Comfort Zone

Brennan and Booth drove around silently for a while, quietly trying to figure out what would be the most comfortable situation for the both of them. Brennan was still nervous, though her partner's comforting words had taken the initial edge off the situation, reminding her again that it was only him. Booth. Seeley. No, Booth.

"Bones?" His voice sounded concerned, her head turned and she saw his eyebrows raised in concern. She also realized that they had stopped driving. "Are you alright?" he asked, noticing that she had been lost in thought once again. Her anxiety had been reduced significantly, but she now appeared to be caught up in an internal battle that he had no clue about.

"I'm fine." She nodded, turning her head to see where they had stopped, she turned back to her partner. "This is the diner."

"It is the diner. Very observant, Bones." He said smirking, his eyes moving back to the diner and then to his partner. "I thought we'd start with comfortable… move on to awkward a little later, what do you think?"

She looked into the diner, and immediately noticed two people she recognized in the diner, sitting together and laughing. "Angela and Hodgins are in there." She said quickly, grabbing hold of Booth's arm tightly, as if their presence had frightened her.

Booth chuckled to himself and peeled her hand from his forearm slowly, glancing in the window, he shrugged. "So? We can have a nice meal together with them around."

"They're going to know, Booth."

"Know what, Bones? That we eat?"

"No. That we're dating."

"Dating? Bones, I invited you out to dinner, once… that's not dating. What if we don't enjoy ourselves? What if we have an absolutely horrible time? We're going on a date… but dating would imply that we've done it more than once."

"You always ask me to eat with you at the diner, Booth. Are you saying that because you didn't ask me all of those other times with the possibility of having intercourse at the close of the evening, that it didn't count as a date?"

Under normal circumstances, Booth would have coughed at her response, trying desperately to regain his self control as she let the word 'intercourse' roll off her tongue as if she were talking about drinking tea or eating a snack. Especially in this case, in which she implied that he thought that he was going to be able to woo her to bed with just a simple dinner and perhaps a movie. Instead, he played it cool. "Exactly." He replied. "I have never… in the past…invited you to dinner thinking that I was going to sleep with you afterwards." He replied. "Therefore, this is our first date… and until the second one occurs, we're not technically dating." He shrugged.

"Booth!" She exclaimed, her cheeks beginning to feel warm with his response.

"Wow… for someone who takes logic as if it were a religion, you really get worked up when it's thrown in your face." He said with a playful smile as his eyes once again moved toward the diner. "I don't know about you, Bones… but I'm starving…"

"Hyperbole." She sighed.

"Excuse me?"

"You! You and your use of hyperbole… You're not starving, Booth… it would take a lot more than six hours of not eating to be considered starving, yet you insist on using that term constantly to describe your state of hunger and it's…"

"Stop." He said suddenly, his voice filled with authority as she stopped midsentence, her mouth still hanging open as she realized that he had actually raised his voice at her. She could see the tenderness in his eyes, and knew it wasn't meant to be anything other than a way to get her attention, he gave her an apologetic smile. "Let's go in… eat… and see what happens."

"Like an experiment? To see if we can do this?"

"Bones, it's not like we've never been out in public together before… it's the diner… so come on, get out of the car and let's dine already!" He said as he climbed out of the car and walked around the other side of the car, opening the door for her as she gave him a surprised and almost irritated glare.

"Booth... what if they're watching?" She exclaimed as she grabbed her crutches from the back.

"What? What if they're watching me be a gentleman, Bones… they're in there… and they have no idea that we're even here. So until they actually notice that I've opened a door for you, we'll just let them go on believing that I'm a caveman that lets you open your own doors." He said as she took his hand and allowed him to help her out of the Sequoia. He helped her to her good foot, and held her balanced until she was able to tuck the crutches beneath her arms.

"Technically, Booth… there were no doors on caves, so there wouldn't be an opportunity for a caveman to actually hold one open for a…"

"Fine… fine… I get it, you're sarcastic…" Booth said as he walked ahead of her, hitting the lock button on the SUV as soon as the door closed and he approached the door of the diner, with Bones hurrying behind him.

"I am not sarcastic, you know that I don't do that…" She said as she caught up with him, only to be met with a smile as he opened the door for her and attempted to usher her inside. She paused to look into his eyes, and she could see that playful glint within them as he dared her to step into the diner, promising that this experience would be something that they would enjoy talking and laughing about when they were through with dinner. She smiled slightly back at him, reflecting the glint in his eyes. "She noticed the perfume I was wearing." She whispered to him as he tilted his head in question. "Angela, before I left the lab, Booth…She already thinks that we're…"

"I noticed your perfume too…" He said with a mishievious grin. "Now get in there before we let that stray dog down the street into the diner." He said as she turned to look back out the door, until he placed his hand in the small of her back and escorted her into the diner carefully, his eyes moving to the back of the diner as they met up with Angela's.

Brennan thought for a moment to say something to Booth to indicate that he had seen Angela and Hodgins, though as her memory served her correctly, she wasn't very good at 'pretending', so she kept her mouth closed, moving quickly toward her and Booth's usual table. "Hey Bones… Ang and Hodgins are here…" He said casually as her head snapped back to look at him as he smiled.

"Hey guys…" Angela said as Brennan's eyes met up with her friends and she smiled. "I thought you were going home." She said, glancing to Booth, she gave him a sly smile that he returned with an almost sarcastic smirk.

"We were on our way to her place, and we thought we'd turn back around… get something to eat." He said, watching Brennan's reaction as she nodded in agreement. He watched Angela's expression turn from suspicion to one of a more relaxed state, almost disappointed. "Do you guys mind if we sit with you?" He asked as Hodgins shrugged and moved from his side, to beside Angela, and Brennan moved into the other seat, with Booth right beside her, settling in comfortably as they began their 'first date', even if their companions did not know that tiny detail.


	32. First Date Part 1

"So I see that you two kissed and made up." Angela said, throwing the first punch with no warning, no pause. Just like that, it was out there in the open and she waited to see them both either explain things away, or change the subject entirely. However, the reaction was quite the opposite of both of the expected reactions as Booth nodded to the waitress as she indicated his and Bones 'usual' meals, and turned his head back toward the artist with a smile.

"That we did." He said with a nod.

"Though… not… with kissing." Brennan said as she shrugged.

"We merely came to an agreement." Booth replied in response.

"We're not dating." Brennan threw in.

"Wait, wait…" Jack said with a laugh in his voice, though nervous to pursue this line of questioning. "Dating? Kissing? I am really, really missing something here."

"Ask Brennan how she broke her foot." Angela said, pointing toward her friend and then at Jack. "Ask her."

"How did you break your foot?" Hodgins chuckled as Brennan sat back and sighed.

"I kicked a table." She admitted, she was feeling more relaxed since they had made their declaration about 'not dating', and while it wasn't exactly the truth, according to Booth, it wasn't exactly a lie either.

"You kicked a table?"

"Ask her why she kicked the table." Angela said, giving her friend a sly look across the table as the two partners exchanged a look.

"I was angry." She shrugged. "Booth… overstepped his bounds and… I became angry. I acted irrationally and uncharacteristically and I… paid the price." She nodded.

Angela was suddenly becoming a bit more uncomfortable as time passed, the conversation was supposed to be fun for her. She was supposed to be picking apart their relationship, they were supposed to have just admitted that they loved one another and done it in the back seat of the government issued SUV that they were always trekking around in, but to her it just appeared that they had simply gone back to normal… to the status quo. She found that shift back to the way things were to be quite unsettling, especially when it was that strong denial of feelings that had sent her friend into a flurry of anger large enough for her to abandon her rational side, and injure herself.

Hodgins could tell that Angela was becoming uncomfortable, the way she shifted in her seat when Brennan had explained her injury. He had noticed the changes that his boss had made during the day, from her agitated appearance that morning, to her calmer attitude in the afternoon after Booth had visited, to now. He could see that something had changed, yet he wasn't completely sure that he could trust their cool exterior. There was just something about the way they were sitting together at the table that didn't seem right to him, a certain closeness that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Angela had already explained some of what had happened, the bathroom incident, the 'foreplay' conversation. They had laughed about how the two partners should just do it, and get it over with so that the tension would be lessened, but from the look of it… tension had been relieved at least somewhat. He noticed the way they sat together, it was just the same as it had always been, their bodies just barely touching, but not stiff and uncomfortable as if they were trying to hide something. They were either incredibly good actors, or they had truly come to an agreement. The awkwardness of earlier in the day had just about disappeared… and with the food and drink, the conversation flowed naturally as if nothing had happened between the two partners.

Their dinner conversation had been natural and normal, and Booth ended up talking about the case just a little bit because work always ended up slipping into the conversation. The four of them had a very good time, and after eating their dinner, Angela yawned as she glanced at her watch. "I should go, sweetie…" She said across the table to Brennan, glancing to Booth and to Hodgins. "I'm going by your place, do you want me to bring you home?" She asked, glancing to Booth and back to her friend, hoping that even this would trigger some kind of response from the two of them regarding their arrangement.

"Actually, Ange… I was going to…"

"I promised her after we ate, I'd show her the file… it was part of the agreement to stop here…" Booth said, sitting back. "We're going to have some pie." He said with a smile and a nod.

"Booth, you know that I don't like pie."

"Coffee, then…"

"Coffee? I'll be awake all night if I have coffee now… caffeine is a stimulant, and you know that…"

"I'll take that as a no…" Angela said with half smile as Hodgins stood up and helped Angela from her seat. She glanced to the partners as they continued to bicker, and she sighed. "I'll see you guys tomorrow…"

"Bye, Ange." Brennan said quickly as she pushed at Booth, who stood up and moved around to the other side of the table so that he could face her, he waved to Angela and Hodgins as they walked out of the door of the diner together. Booth settled in his seat and flagged down the waitress, giving her the 'international Booth symbol' for pie and coffee. As soon as the bell clanged on the door indicating that their two friends had walked out of the door, Booth reached for her hand.

She pulled her hand away and shook her head, dipping them below the table for a moment as she shook her head. "No hand holding." She said in a quick whisper as his face took on an almost offended expression.

"No hand holding, why not?"

"Because anyone could see us here, Booth… you know that Angela is watching… she has a very, very keen eye for these things." Brennan explained.

"Come on, Bones… we did so well… give me a reward." He said, beckoning her hand with his, he wiggled his fingers and tilted his head.

Reluctantly, she put her hand on the table, eyeing him carefully as she slid her hand across to his, slipping her fingertips into his palm, he shifted forward and enveloped her hand in his. "There… that didn't hurt… did it?"

"No." She whispered. "I don't suppose it did."

"Now." He replied, as he looked up as the waitress approached them, his hand slipping from hers as he smiled up at her. "Now, it's time for pie." He said grinning across the table at his partner, he grabbed his fork and raised his eyebrows and his fork as part two of their first date began.


	33. First Date 2 Goodnight Kiss

The entire pie and coffee experience was dripping with innuendo as Booth groaned over his piece of apple pie. The flaky crust sprinkled off his lips as he took each bite, licking his lips and staring at his fork as he avoided eye contact with his companion.

"Are you doing this purposely?"

"What?"

"Making love to your dessert." She replied in a low voice, leaning closer to her partner as he raised an eyebrow at her and took another bite.

"Jealous?" He said, a piece of crumb sticking to the side of his mouth, he watched her blue eyes deepen at his question, slightly surprised by this particular reaction instead of an immediate scoff or sarcastic comment.

"Actually… I was just thinking about how you're devouring that pie as if you can't wait for it to be finished." She replied. "If I were you…" She whispered, leaning just a little closer. "I'd learn how to savor it."

His eyes widened at her blatant flirting, her smile was enchanting, her eyes sparkling. "I thought you went for passionate… uninhibited…"

"Of course." She replied. "But I also like to savor… you know… let it roll around on my tongue, take in the scent, the texture… the warmth…"

Booth sat back and coughed a little, a bit of pie slipping into his windpipe making his eyes water slightly as he tried to dislodge it quickly and unceremoniously. He caught his cough and cleared his throat. "For someone who doesn't like pie… you really know how to enjoy it." He said, taking a deep breath through his nose, clearing his throat again as his eyes stared into hers.

There was a silence between the partners as their eyes clashed. Brown and blue, like earth and sky… melting into one another, one was warming the other as the reflection of the lights above them made their eyes sparkle. Neither spoke a word, nor made a movement, there wasn't really much left to say. At that point, everything that was left was being spoken through their eyes. Booth found the silence comforting and warm. His partner and he were having a quiet exchange of thoughts across the table, and he found his eyes drifting to her lips, and back to her eyes once again.

"What are you thinking about?" She said, her voice was low, almost a husky tone as her head tilted in a curious manner, noticing the small trip that his eyes had made, she wanted to be as blunt as possible, but decided to first test her boundaries.

"I am thinking, about how I really don't know you." He replied.

"Booth?" She said, her tone was almost teasing as she let out a self conscious laugh. "Of course you really know me." She replied. "You know me better than… than anyone… even Angela." She replied.

"Really?" He asked, leaning forward again, he moved his now empty plate to the side and stared directly into her eyes.

"Yes." She nodded. "I mean… statistically, we spend more time together than Angela and I… and when she and I are together, the conversation tends to be more of a social interaction than of a personal nature… and while I do go to her with personal issues, and she comes to me with personal issues, rarely does it delve into the depths of our conversations."

"I thought girls talked about everything."

"That is a very sexist comment." She replied, sitting back slightly, noting the smile on his lips as she let her eyes wander back to his eyes, her posture taking on a slightly more defensive position.

"Perhaps I am sexist." He shrugged.

"No." She shook her head and settled back in her seat, her fingertips nervously fluttering over the handle of her coffee mug as she spoke. "Being sexist would require a more intense hatred of women beneath a faux exterior of male prowess. The need to… constantly prove your alpha male status… an insistence that you can do things better simply because you have testosterone and a penis."

"Bones…" He chuckled as he smiled, blushing slightly.

"I mean, the fact that talking about sex, and sexual organs causes you to be embarrassed, only goes to prove that you're not a sexist individual."

"Whoa… whoa… I'm not… embarrassed talking about…" He lowered his voice as he leaned in. "My… penis… " He whispered. "But…"

"Your face is flushed, your hands…" she said, watching him shifting his fingers nervously. "Are moving in an almost frantic pace… they are most likely moist with sweat… that only brings me to the conclusion that…"

Suddenly, he reached across the table and grabbed her hands, watching her jump in surprise at the sudden contact, he smiled at her gasp. "My hands are not sweating." He replied, his eyes burning into hers. The pause between the two of them was so silent that it screamed. His warm hands were cradling her hands, his thumb was very slowly, very deliberately rubbing across her skin. Her heart was pounding in her chest as suddenly, as if she had gotten an idea, a smile skittered across her face. It wasn't a shy smile, a tender smile. It was a full blown grin that lit her eyes up even more than they had already been. "What?" He whispered.

"Let's get out of here." She said, nodding her head toward the door.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Huh? Nothing…" She quickly corrected as her smile disappeared as soon as it had been mentioned, and she pulled her hands back. "Let's go." She said, pulling several dollars from her purse, she looked up to see Booth shaking his head. "What?"

"Aren't you going to let me pay?" He asked, tilting his head in question as she looked at him blankly for a moment.

"You pay?"

"It's a date, Bones… the guy pays."

"Oh… well… I just figured… since you're not sexist… you wouldn't care if I paid for myself."

"Yes." He replied. "But… being a gentleman is more important than being sexist… and in the slim chance that I'm attempting to be a gentleman, I insist on paying." He replied as he tossed her money back toward her and put his own money on the table.

"A sexist gentleman?" She teased, watching the color rise in his face again as he shook his head and laughed.

"Just take back your money, Bones… let's get out of here." He said as he stood up and grabbed her crutches. He held out his hand for her, and waited as she took another sip of her coffee and looked up at him.

"Thank you." She said, taking his hand and allowing her to stand up, she pushed forward against his chest for a moment, leaning to his face, she kissed his cheek as she took her crutches, giggling slightly as she heard his sigh and tucked them under her arms as she made her way toward the door. Before she could reach it, however, she watched his arm reach out in front of her and push the door open. She turned her head and watched him smile at her as she made her way carefully through the door, a silent 'thank you' on her lips as she stepped out into the rain dampened sidewalk and moved toward the car, reaching for the door handle, only to have it be intercepted once again by Booth. "Don't you think you're overdoing this just a little bit?" She asked as she turned around, coming face to face with her partner as he chuckled at her faux annoyance.

"No." He replied, sucking in a slow, deep breath as their eyes locked again. He looked from one eye to the other, unable to pull away just yet, as she shook her head and handed him the crutches.

"You're incorrigible." She whispered, turning to pull herself into the seat as she turned to see him tilt his head and smile.

"You can encourage me all you want, Bones…" he said, closing the door on her retort as he laughed to himself and walked around the car. As soon as he opened his door, she was explaining to him what she had meant by her statement, how 'encouragable' was not a word… and what she had meant was that he was being unruly…persistent, hopeless. "You're saying I'm hopeless, Bones?" he asked, watching her mouth close and her retort silenced.

"Not… hopeless… like…desperate… "

"Then what?" He asked as he drove toward her apartment.

"Nothing, Booth…" She shook her head. "You're reading far too much into all of this…" She replied, thinking that it was more her fear that he was doing so, than the actual possibility. There was more for him to read into than she had originally thought, and with the slight nuances of human nature that she was still struggling to understand and grasp, she may have missed one or two inferences or subtleties that he had seen… looking through her thinly veiled attempt at keeping him at a distance.

"Am I?" He asked, knowing that she hadn't meant it exactly the way that it sounded, but still bringing the question forward for her to think about. The question however, brought on a slightly awkward silence, that remained in the air until he pulled the SUV up to the curb beside her apartment building. He shifted into park and they paused for a moment, the silence deafeningly silent.

"Do you… have the file?" She asked, watching as his brow furrowed in question for a split second before he realized what she was referring to.

"Oh… oh, yeah, here it is." He said, reaching into the pocket on the door, he pulled out the file and handed it over to her. "All of the information on the suspect is in there… we'll do the um… the interrogation in the morning… and maybe the squints will have some information on the cause of death and stuff by the time we're done with the interrogation." He shrugged.

"Um…" She paused, flipping through the folder, she nodded. "Yeah… sounds…sounds good." She said as she moved to open the door, she glanced over at her partner and noticed that he seemed somewhat conflicted, his hand on the handle of the door, his eyes staring straight ahead. "Are you okay, Booth?" She asked, taking her hand from the handle, she watched his eyes meet up with hers.

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine." He nodded, giving her a friendly smile as he grabbed the handle and opened the door. "Stay right there…. I'm coming around to be sexist again." He said, listening to her laugh that made him smile as he closed the door and walked around. He opened the door just as she pulled the crutches into the front seat, her eyes meeting up with his as he held his hand out for her again. She took his hand gently, allowing him to help her from the car, situating the crutches beneath her arms and taking a step forward, she waited for him to close the door behind her. She headed toward her building, feeling his presence behind her as he reached just in front of her to open the door the building. They climbed the steps to her apartment silently, and he grabbed her keys from where they hang on her bag, slipping them into the lock.

"I can take it from here, Booth." She said with a bit of humor to her voice, though feeling bad when his hand swung back quickly, his eyes moving to meet hers. "I'll see you tomorrow." She stated, nodding her head and tilting it as she watched him stand almost nervously before her. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm good, I'm good… I'm fine, Bones." He replied.

"You're…nervous?" She asked.

"Nah… I'm not nervous…"

"Do you want to come in?" She asked, shrugging.

"I should probably go… home, go home… I probably should, because we have to get up in the morning…. I have to get up in the morning… I'll pick you up at six."

"Alright…" She said, her brow furrowing as she watched his thumb rub his car keys in his hands, his eyes avoiding hers for a moment. "Booth?" She said, as his eyes met hers, and a half smile slipped onto her lips. "Goodnight." She said, leaning up to his lips, she started to leave a tender kiss on them as she suddenly felt his hand tenderly caress her cheek. That tiny touch was enough to almost make her drop her crutches as she reached up and touched his cheek with her own hand, rubbing her thumb across the slight stubble that was beginning to appear as she deepened the kiss, exploring his mouth with her own as he supported her weight for a moment, allowing the crutches to fall from under her arms, the loud clunking of them hitting the door startling them as they broke from the kiss. For a moment they were stunned, surprised at the intensity of the kiss they had just shared, but then she saw the twinkle return to his eye as they slanted up to match the smile on his face.

"I should go…" He chuckled as he held her tenderly.

"Probably…" She replied, her eyes on his.

"You have sweet dreams, Bones." He said softly, handing back her crutches as she opened the door and slipped inside carefully, tossing the folder onto the table beside the door as he leaned against the frame.

"Goodnight, Seeley." She whispered sweetly, leaning in for another quick peck, before she ran her tongue across her lips and smiled, drew back inside the apartment and closed the door securely, leaving Booth standing there for several seconds as he tried to regain his composure.


	34. Morning Glory

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Six o'clock AM came and went unceremoniously, and Brennan found herself glancing at her phone at thirty second intervals. It wasn't uncommon for Booth to be late to pick her up, but typically he would at least give her a phone call to let her know he was on his way. She sat on her sofa flipping through the file one more time as she tried to mentally prepare herself for the interrogation that they were going to be participating in, and she glanced at her phone again. She flipped the phone open and just as she was about to press the 'send' button on Booth's number, there was a familiar knock at her door.

"You're late." She said loudly as she tried to stand up as quickly as she could. She tossed the folder onto the couch and grabbed hold of one of her crutches she approached the door. She unlocked the bolt and opened the door slowly.

"As long as you're not." He said in almost a sing song voice as he walked past her with two cups of coffee. He approached the couch and set them on the coffee table, his eyes not meeting hers.

"I don't know what that means." She said as she watched him look up at her and smile as he quickly turned and walked toward the bathroom. "Booth?" She said as he disappeared into the room, leaving the door open as he stepped inside, she tilted her head and her face took on a confused expression. "I didn't think we were in the 'leaving the bathroom door ajar' phase of our relationship." She teased as she watched him poke his head around the corner.

"I'm not going to the bathroom." He said with a smirk, watching her approach him slowly.

"Then why are you in my bathroom? I thought we were going." She said as he took a step back and lifted the frame from the mirror he had broken from the floor and walked out of the room toward her.

"I know a guy that can fix this." He replied as he passed her, smiling happily, walking toward the door. "You ready to go?"

"You know a guy who is able to restore a handcrafted 19th century gilded antique mirror from France?" She asked as she followed him on her crutches, watching as he turned and scowled.

"I know a guy who can fix it…he's magic."

"I don't believe in magic, Booth…"

"How about the magic of Elmer's glue?" He said as he opened the door to the apartment, he turned to see her scowling at him. "Come on, come on… we're late…" He said as she grabbed her bag from the table and shoved the file folder into it.

"You forgot the coffee." She nodded toward the two cups on the table as he rolled his eyes and approached the table. He slid the frame onto his arm and grabbed the two cups of coffee.

"Alright Bones, let's get out of here…" He said as he followed her toward the door. They walked out into the hallway together and toward the elevator. "So…" He said as the elevator doors closed with the two of them within it.

"So?" She said, raising her eyebrows as she shifted her bag on her arm. "How did you sleep last night?" She asked, a slight smirk on her face as she looked up at the numbers changing on the elevator as they reached the bottom floor.

"I slept… fine…" He said, watching her with a scrutinizing eye and a humored expression. "How did you sleep?"

"On my side…" She said, just as the elevator doors opened, she laughed and moved out of the elevator quickly, leaving Booth with his jaw dropped for a second before he moved quickly to catch up with her.

"Bones! You made a joke!" He exclaimed with a laugh as he reached the door right before she did, opening the door for her as she laughed.

"I find that I can be very entertaining." She said smugly, seeing the SUV at the road, she picked up her pace a little, watching as Booth approached her side of the car, she reached out for the handle before he could get to her, and turned at the car, blocking the handle from him as she leaned against the door.

"Hey…" he said as she raised her eyebrows at him, blocking him with her body.

"You're holding two very hot cups of coffee… and a mirror frame, and you're going to try to open the door to the car for me?"

"The coffee's not that hot." He shrugged as he nudged her with his hand. "Move, so I can open the door."

"Booth… I can handle it by myself."

"You're on crutches." He replied.

"And yet my phalanges…" She said, wiggling her fingers in his face. "Are still in working order."

"Just open the door, Bones… okay?"

"Okay." She said with a satisfied smirk, turning, she balanced herself at the door and opened it, turning around, she slid into the seat and reached for the cups, smirking at him as he handed over the coffees with an irritated sigh. He repositioned the mirror on his hand as he moved to take a step back. Just as he was about to turn, he felt a sharp tug at his tie, and turned his head to see that his partner had grabbed hold of it tightly.

"What are you doing, Bones?" He asked, noting that she had put the coffees in the cup holders in record time, and now sat holding his tie firmly in her grip, a devilish grin about her face.

"I thought you could read people, Booth." She whispered as they came nose to nose, the playful glint in his eyes was contagious, as his soon reflected back identically.

"I think I have become quite adept at reading people, yes…" He replied , feeling his body reacting to her closeness, he cleared his throat as he tried to remain composed.

"It was very rude of you not to offer me a good morning kiss." She whispered. "After we had such a nice date last night. I thought that you liked me."

"I figured that you were an independent woman… you can think for yourself… if you wanted a…" His playful argument was suddenly cut off with a quick tug of his tie as his lips touched hers, tenderly at first and quickly escalating into something slightly more involved, as her hands released the tie, and found their way to the back of his neck, her fingertips delightfully dancing at the back of his skull, sliding into his hair as she pulled him closer to her, farther into the kiss.

Booth had to grip the top of the car with his hand to keep the frame from sliding down his arm and crashing into the ground, while his other hand very delicately touched her cheek, a move that brought a slight whimper to her throat as he ran his fingertips across her skin, eliciting a more eager approach to the kiss as she took a slow, deep breath against his mouth and let out a low, soft sounding moan against his mouth, breaking the kiss and opening her eyes slowly, just as his eyes opened. "I'm sorry…" His voice cracked and the corner of his lip turned up as he cleared his throat a little as he smiled. "I'm sorry I was so rude…"

"I hope that you have learned your lesson." She said, reaching up to straighten his tie as their eyes remained locked for several more seconds. He took a deep breath and stood up, giving her another long look, before closing the door and putting the frame in the back of the SUV, he then walked around and slid into his seat silently, and drove them toward the J. Edgar Hoover Building, but not without several glances to the self satisfied grin on his partner's face.


	35. Don't Stand So Close,,,

The interrogation went well. Brennan sat in one of the chairs quietly while Booth asked the questions of the owner of the rental lot. He seemed like a reasonable guy, but his eyes kept shifting to Brennan, and every time he'd smile at her, Booth would snap his fingers in his face, bringing his focus back to the task at hand. "So you're saying that a dead guy shows up in one of your cars in your rental lot, and you have no idea who it could be?"

"No, man… I'm serious." He replied shaking his head. "I came in… figured that the car had just been returned after hours and I didn't think to look in it."

"Didn't you have to check it for problems? Make sure it hadn't been in an accident? Clean the upholstery?" Booth asked, watching the man fidget slightly, his eyes moving to Brennan for a second as Booth snapped his attention back.

"Well… it's a rental lot for older cars, you know… we don't typically get new customers very much… the occasional business trip, or airport pick up, but it's really rare."

"But you didn't actually own the car that the suspect was found in… wouldn't that draw suspicion to you? Sitting in your office… see a car you don't recognize."

"Cars come and go, Agent Booth… I don't know all of the cars that the other rental places have." He shrugged.

"Don't you get paperwork… maybe faxed to you? E-mail?"

"Sometimes… sometimes they don't come in for a couple of days… I don't worry about it." He shrugged.

"So you're saying that the rental business isn't teeming with energy and the money isn't flowing?" Booth asked with a sigh, glancing to his partner. He was surprised that she hadn't said a word.

"Not really, man. The economy is in the toilet… no one is renting cars… and if they are, they're not getting my clunkers." The man said with a sigh.

"What about security cameras?"

"If they want to steal one of those piece of crap cars, let them. At least that way, I get the insurance. I'm telling you… I've never seen that guy in my life… how he got in one of my cars, I have no idea." He said definitively as he shook his head.

"Thank you, Mr. Reyes…" Booth said as he started to stand up, he glanced to Brennan, who was still watching the man carefully. "Bones… you need him for anything?"

"Huh?" She asked as she looked up at Booth, who shook his head and shrugged. "Oh… the key…. To the car that the body was in… where is it?"

"When they dropped the car off… they put it in the drop box… its probably still there." The man shrugged.

"Thank you, Mr. Reyes." Brennan said as she started to stand up, grabbing for her crutches, she didn't realize that Booth was right there, handing them to her. She looked up and smiled into his eyes. "I'm done here…" She said as she watched his eyes follow hers as she grabbed the crutches.

Booth followed Brennan from the room, watching as she pivoted in front of him. He nearly ran into her as she lifted her hand to rest on his chest for a moment, stopping him. "What is it, Bones? You've got that look in your eye…"

"What look?" She asked curiously, the corner of her lip turning up just slightly as she waited for his answer.

"The look that says you're about three steps ahead of me on something." He said as he smiled knowingly at her.

"We need to analyze the key… if they dropped it in the box to pretend that it was a rental… there might be a thumb print." She said, watching his smile widen.

"Bones, Bones, Bones… I knew there was a reason that I kept you around…" He said as he put his hand on her back to lead her toward the car.

----------------

They drove toward the Jeffersonian in relative silence, talking about the case, the conversations they had with the victim's wife, with the car lot owner, and they were slowly working through the evidence. "Angela should be done with the murder scenario by the time we get back." She said as she glanced to Booth, noticing him move his focus back to the road.

"Good." He nodded, knowing he was caught staring for a moment. He glanced to her and watched the smile creep onto her face. "You kind of liked that little non-double date last night, didn't you?"

She gave him a satisfied nod with a slight smirk. "While it's not right to deceive friends like that… it was rather exhilarating to be able to pull it off."

"Well… we're going to have another opportunity to try…" He said, glancing to her as he settled back in his seat and drove.

"We're going to have to tell them at some point."

"Yeah, I know… I'm sure they'll figure it out on their own though… I mean, they're geniuses." He shrugged. "Besides, it's not like they really care if we're together… it probably doesn't even cross their minds when we're not around them.

---------------

"I'm serious, Hodgins, they were acting really weird… you saw that look when he mentioned her foot, and then she tried to change the subject mentioning that he had pie on his tie."

"Angela…" He laughed as he put another slide under the microscope. "They are not together… they were bickering exactly the way that they always do. Why do you even care, anyway?"

"Because of what Bren said, Jack."

"About the foreplay? She was under the influence of pain medication, Ange. When they start going out, we're going to know… the fighting will stop."

"The fighting is going to get worse!"

"Worse? How could it get worse? They're constantly bickering…"

"Then maybe that's not a good way of gauging their relationship… maybe…."

"The only way you're going to be satisfied, is if you ask her, Ange… they said last night that they're not dating… and they didn't seem nervous about… wait…"

"They weren't nervous about saying they aren't dating… " She finished as she grinned brightly. "Anytime someone makes an assumption about their relationship, they get flustered… they were way too relaxed."

"You're reading way too much into this…" He chuckled as they looked up at the sound of the doors of the lab opening.

"Booth, I'm serious… one more time… "

"Bones… Bones…just admit it… I'm right about the wife… I'm right…" He said with a sigh.

"Stop it… Stop… Not until we have evidence. Your stupid gut is not going to lead us in circles … we'll end up arresting the widow only to find out that she's innocent, and then you're going to feel like an ass… grrr!" She growled as she moved as quickly as she could on the crutches as she moved toward her office. Booth paused for a second and looked up at the platform with a self satisfied grin.

"Come on, Bones! It makes sense!" He exclaimed as he sighed, glancing to the platform. "She hates when I'm right…" he said as Angela shook her head. "Did they bring the keys from the rental place?"

"Not yet…" Angela said with a sigh. "So things are better, huh?" She asked, her voice holding a tinge of 'knowing' as Booth heard Hodgins chuckle behind her.

"Things are back to normal… the way they should be…" He said, giving her a pointed look.

"Right…" Angela grinned as Booth shook his head.

He turned to walk toward the office when his phone began to ring. He picked it up and glanced to Angela and turned to look at Brennan's open door. "Booth." He grunted into the line. He listened and looked to Angela. She watched as a slow, sly smirk rose across his face, his eyes lighting up as he listened. "Alright… and… yeah, bring it here… just to confirm… alright, we'll be there in a few…" He said as he hung up the phone and laughed a triumphant laugh. He was going to say something to Angela, when his excitement took control of him and he turned on his heel. "Hey Bones! You're never going to guess who just dropped into FBI headquarters to confess!" He exclaimed as he continued to laugh, his entire way to her office.


	36. Hypothetically Dating?

Brennan was sitting at her desk when he walked in, his smile was bright and happy, his step was just on the verge of having a 'skip' in it as he flopped down hard into the chair across from her desk. "Didn't you hear me, Bones?"

"The wife confessed." She replied, looking down at her papers as she sorted them out on her desk.

"And?" He said as he waited for her to continue, only to get an eyebrow raise from his partner. A smile rose on his face as he watched her look down at her desk and continue her task.

"And what?" She asked, looking up into his eyes. "You want a pat on the back? Why are you still here? Don't you have to go talk to the wife?"

"Aren't you going to come with me?" he asked.

"Why? So you can sit in the car and torture me with your hubris?"

"Huh?" he asked, squinting his eyes as he watched her. The glimmer in her eyes was full of humor, and though she hated to make him feel stupid, she always prided herself in stumping him when she could.

"Your pride, Booth… Ego…"

"I don't have an ego." He said, trying to sound offended, he glanced to the doorway when he heard a scoff from Angela.

"Are you guys still arguing?" she asked, leaning against the door frame as she looked in on the two of them.

"Yes." Booth said, at the same time that Brennan said 'no', eliciting a grin from the artist.

"Bren, the keys are here… and I finished the scenario on the Angelator."

"Thank you, Angela…" Brennan said as she started to stand up, reaching for her crutches, Angela watched closely as Booth didn't move for them. She figured that a sure sign that they were dating would be him doting on her, so that was one strike against.

"Where are you going, Bones? I thought you were going to come with me to talk to the wife." He said as he watched her walk away behind him, moving toward Angela.

"You go do your work, Booth… and I'll do mine. You can send the paperwork here… and I'll send our paperwork to you."

"Lunch?" He asked, watching her stop at the door.

"I don't think I'm going to have time for lunch." She said, her eyes burning into his for a split second as he nodded his head.

"Do you need a ride home tonight?" He asked, watching her shake her head.

"Angela can take me home. I'll see you later, Booth… You got it right with the wife… so not having to deal with me for the rest of the day… think of it as your reward." She said with a sarcastic smirk as she moved out of the room quickly and toward the forensics platform, leaving Booth to stare after her until she disappeared from view.

--------------------------------

Later in the afternoon, Brennan sat at her desk quietly going over some of the results on the case when she looked up to see Angela in the doorway. She gave her friend a polite smile and waved her inside. "Hey, Ange."

"Hey, Sweetie." She said as she stepped into the office and sat down in the chair across from her friend. Brennan continued working, periodically looking up at her friend as she sat across from her watching her carefully.

"Is there something you needed?"

"Not really." She shrugged, as Brennan continued typing.

"Then…" She said as she stopped working, she looked up again. "Why are you in here?"

"Visiting."

"Visiting?" Brennan said, her lip curling up to a half smile. "You rarely just visit…me, Angela. What's wrong?"

"I had a question." She shrugged.

"Okay… then you weren't really just visiting me." She pointed out.

"Right… so… can I ask you a question?"

"Of course you can… I'm not stopping you." Brennan said, waving her hand over the desk, she stopped typing and pushed her complete focus to her friend.

"Okay… can we speak in hypothetical?"

"Sure."

"Hypothetically… then… there is someone… that… I know… who is… interested in someone she works with."

"Okay."

"And… hypothetically… she knows that she likes him… a lot."

"Okay."

"And… hypothetically… they… don't know if what they want… is to ruin what they have by having more of a relationship than they already have."

"Uh huh…"

"This… friend is very much in love with her job…and her coworker… very in love with his, and if it were to … sever their relationship, it would make things very, very awkward."

"Ange… I'm not going to date Booth." Brennan interrupted as she watched Angela grin and shake her head.

"I wasn't talking about you and Booth, Sweetie. I was talking about me and Hodgins…"

"Well then it wasn't a hypothetical question, it was an actual question."

"No, it was hypothetical… we were hypothesizing."

"If you're the one that you're hypothesizing, why would you need to hypothesize at all, why didn't you just ask the question?"

"I thought it would be easier to hypothesize it so I wouldn't have to tell you who I was talking about."

"But you did tell me who you were talking about…"

Angela stared at her friend for a moment, waiting for a moment of clarity to wash over her features, some semblance of recognition that the conversation had gotten off the wrong track and promptly slammed into oncoming traffic at full speed ahead. "Thanks… Bren, for the advice…" Angela said smiling. She watched her friend's eyebrow go up and she stood up. "I'm gonna go put some finishing touches on the paperwork for that last case… we can go whenever you're ready.

"Sounds good to me." Brennan said as she watched her friend quietly retreat from her office, finding herself just a bit more confused than when she had walked in.

As soon as Angela was out of sight, Brennan continued her work, only to be interrupted by the phone ringing. She rolled her eyes and lifted the receiver. "Brennan." She spoke harshly into the line, annoyed that she hadn't gotten nearly as much work done as she had hoped.

"Geez, did I call at a bad time?"

"No." She said, breathing a slow sigh out as she found herself smiling at his voice.

"Did you spill the beans?"

"What? What beans?"

"No, Bones… did you tell Angela about us…?"

"I don't see how that has anything to do with beans, but no… what's there to tell?" She said, a smirk on her lips that he could picture through the line.

"Good…I'll meet you at your place at eight… with dinner…"

"Thai?"

"If you like to play it that way, sure…" He said as he waited for a response. He let out a laugh. "Yes, Thai… your place… bedtime casual…"

"What does that mean?" She asked, letting out a laugh as he found himself blushing across the line, chuckling to himself.

"I guess I'll see when I get there." He said, listening to the silence on the line. "Eight, Bones…"

"Eight…" She repeated, hanging up the phone, she realized that he had firmly placed a grin on his face, and she couldn't think of one thing that would make it disappear.

--------------


	37. In the moment

Brennan sat in her friend's car quietly staring out of the window. Her hand was playing nervously at her bag, and Angela couldn't help but notice her friend's tapping foot. "Are you okay, sweetie?" She asked, watching the tapping foot stop and her fingers disentangle them from her purse strap.

"Huh?"

"The nervous ticks… the quiet you… are you okay?"

"I'm fine… why wouldn't I be fine?"

"You seem nervous."

"I'm not nervous. I'm tired."

"You don't look tired, you look nervous." Angela said as Brennan turned and glared at her friend with a slight smirk.

"I am not… nervous."

"What are you doing tonight?"

"Probably going to bed." She replied. "It's Tuesday night… not really a bar hopping night… besides, I'd actually have to hop." She said, regarding her foot with a nod. "And I'm not sure I'm up for that." There was a soft silence filling the car as Brennan listened to her friend take a deep breath. She knew she wanted to ask her a question, but she also wanted to avoid the awkwardness that Booth's request had given her. She needed a diversion. "So, you're thinking of getting back together with Hodgins?" she said quickly, her head turning to see her friend's jaw drop slightly.

"I never said that."

"Actually, you said exactly that." Brennan replied, a knowing smirk on her face. "Your hypothetical that wasn't hypothetical."

"Yeah… I am weak, what can I say?"

"You're not weak, Ange…"

"For Hodgins I am… and… you know, I really don't want to mess things up with him this time. I don't want to get his hopes up and crush them…"

"Then don't." Brennan said with a shrug. "He loves you, Ange… maybe that's living in the moment…"

"Bren… moments don't last forever… that's why they're called moments…" She said as she pulled up to Brennan's apartment building, her friend's eyes focusing on hers for a moment. "You know that better than anyone…"

"Maybe I'm wrong." She shrugged, opening the door, she pulled her crutches from the back seat and smiled politely at her friend, who had gone completely silent by the response that she had gotten. "Hey… um… I think Booth is going to bring me in the morning." She said, watching Angela nod her head, a smirk rising on her lips. "What?"

"You should try, you know… living in the moment…" Angela said with a knowing smile, shaking her head.

"I intend on it." She said as she adjusted herself on her crutches and turned. "Goodnight, Ange." She said, waving to her friend and closing the door, Angela watched as her friend adjusted her bag on her shoulder, and made her way confidently into her building.

Brennan made her way up the stairs toward her apartment, moving swiftly down the hallway on her crutches, she leaned on the door jamb as she looked for her keys.

"Hey, Doctor Brennan…" A younger man in his late twenties spoke from beside her, sending her attention in his direction.

"Hi Troy." She said quickly as he started to pass her on the stairs on the way to his apartment.

"Do you need some help with that door?" He asked politely as he took a step or two down toward her.

"It's fine… I think… I think I have it…" She said as she continued to dig in her bag for her keys.

"I can help…" He said as he reached the landing and glanced to her, as she let him help her look for her keys.

"Thanks… this broken foot his more trouble than it's worth…" She said as she sighed, watching him as he grinned as he held up her keys.

"Thanks, Troy…" She said as she smiled at him politely.

"Hey Doctor Brennan… do you think you'd be interested… maybe… we could get a drink or something sometime…?"

"Troy… are you asking me out on a date?" She asked, her cheeks blushing slightly as she watched the young man become slightly self conscious, shifting from foot to foot as he shrugged.

"I … well, you know…"

"Sorry Troy, she's not available." Booth's voice interrupted from the bottom of the stairs, two bags of Thai food in his hand as he walked up the steps.

"Booth…" Brennan said with a disappointed tone as she glared at her partner as he approached her, a hint of humor in her eyes. He grabbed her keys. "Cute bag." He said to Troy as he slid the key into the lock and turned it, opening the door, he walked into Brennan's apartment and closed the door behind him.

"Sorry Troy…" Brennan said with a polite smile as she reached for her bag and gave him an apologetic look as he handed it back to her. She slid it onto her shoulder and reached for the doorknob, glancing back to her neighbor.

"You and…?"

"Yes…" She nodded as she tilted her head and swung the door open. "Booth… feet off the coffee table…" She said into the apartment as she moved inside on her crutches. "Thanks again, Troy." She said as she promptly closing the door on her neighbor's surprised face.

She made her way into the apartment and watched as her grinning partner looked up at her, his eyes sparkling as he shook his head. "This is bedtime casual?" he asked in a humored tone.

"I was running behind… you had to have been right behind Angela…" She said as she swatted at his feet with her crutches, watching as he moved them off the coffee table.

"I had to drive around the block about three times… what were you two yapping about, anyway…?"

"Living in the moment." She said, avoiding his eyes for a few moments, feeling the grin on his face that was being shone in her direction.

"Really…?" He asked, tossing the bags onto the coffee table, he stood up and approached her slowly.

"Yes." She said, trying to move backwards, she could feel the end of her crutch hit the leg of the coffee table.

"Whoa…" he said as he reached for her, grabbing hold of her arms before she fell backwards, her body swinging around and landing in his arms, as she tried to right herself, only to nestle farther in his arms as he helped her back to her foot. "You okay…?" he asked as she gripped his arms tightly, watching his eyes as she seemed to slip into a very serious mode for a moment.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm okay… are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine…" He shrugged, noting that they were only inches apart. She had a mischievous glint in her eye and he returned the same look into hers. "Though… I'm a little bothered by the little twerp in the hallway…"

"What little… oh…" She grinned. "Troy?"

"Yeah…"

"Well look at that…" She said with a grin, her blue eyes wide and bright as she still refused to let go of his arms, her hand lifting slowly to his cheek as she tilted her head. "You're jealous…" She said with a giggle.

"I am not jealous!" he exclaimed as he tried to take a step backwards, only to be pulled closer by his partner, her face dangerously close to his now as she moved her arm around his shoulder, resting her hand on his neck, the cool, soft skin of her hand sending goosebumps across his body. "Bones… what are you doing?" He asked as her nose touched his, her eyes set directly into his dark eyes.

"Living in the moment." She whispered as she tipped her head slightly, moved forward, and devoured his mouth with her own. He held her to him and tipped his head, slipping his tongue into her mouth as she let out a tiny whimper, her hands moving over his shoulders as she slipped her thumbs beneath his jacket and began to pull it down, hearing an almost protesting grunt from him as he pulled his lips from hers, and looked her directly in the eyes."

"Bones..." He said, swallowing, he licked his lips. "I just... I just wanted to say that... I am very glad, that you decided to live in... this moment... and not the moment about sixty seconds ago." He said, his smile sending her heart into a flutter as he watched her eyes.

"You mean Troy?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, I guess you were just at the right place at the right moment..." She said, her fingertips dancing over his neck as she looked deeply into his eyes.

"You can say that again..."

"I said... I guess...Mmmm!" She exclaimed with a giggle as he hushed her with another kiss as he tipped them both backwards and sent them crashing down onto the couch carefully, with her weight pushing down on him, as they lost themselves in the moment.


	38. Plans for flowers and chauvinism

Their breathing was rapid, their mouths moving against one another's as she let out a tiny giggle against his mouth, breathing through her nose, she listened to his chest vibrate beneath her as he let out a chuckle himself. Her hands were running through his hair, her fingertips sending tiny surges of electricity through his body as his own hands moved across her back, rubbing, kneading, rolling across her body as the hand without the bandage nestled itself in her hair as he tipped his head and devoured her mouth further into his, listening to his guttural groans, that was threatening to send her into a passionate frenzy.

Suddenly she pulled her head back and looked into his eyes, her own eyes had darkened in passion as she smiled down at her partner with a sly grin. "What are you smiling at?" He asked, his voice was deep and a little strained, her weight pushing down on his lungs, while her bad foot hung precariously in the air.

"You." She whispered, leaning her head down to kiss his lips softly, she pulled back again.

He smiled up at her and watched her eyes sparkle back at him. "Me?" he asked, loving the way her eyes would focus on his for a moment and then move to his lips, and back to his eyes again. "You're beautiful." He whispered, watching her eyes sparkle a little more.

"I'm also hungry." She said, turning her eyes from his, she felt his chest drop as he let out a breath of disappointment.

"Hungry for….?" He tried, teasing her just a little, she let out a laugh that sent his stomach into a barrage of butterflies.

"Food… Booth!" She exclaimed as she started to roll toward the edge, feeling his arms tighten around her.

"What are you doing there, Bones? You're going to roll right off onto the floor."

"Well, how else do you expect me to get up?" She asked as he held her tightly and tried to assess the situation carefully.

"I didn't think about getting up when I… got down…" he said, cocking his eyebrow at her with a faux confused expression, sending another laugh vibrating through her body, one that only succeeded in making other parts of his anatomy a little more uncomfortable. "Alright…" he said softly as he smiled up at her, loosening his grip slightly. "I don't want you to hit your foot… so be careful…" He said as he started to roll with her, trying so hard to tuck her beneath him as he pulled himself up on her couch. He turned to ensure that her bad foot was resting on the arm of the couch, before he climbed out from above her, and stood up, leaving her lying on the couch, with him standing above her, looking down at her. Her smile was happy, and her eyes were smiling as well. "Bones… I don't think I've ever seen you look so…"

"Lazy?" She asked, turning her head to see the Thai food on the table, she resisted grabbing the bag in her hand.

"Relaxed." He said as he reached down and grabbed her legs carefully, sitting down on the couch, he lay her legs across his lap, leaned over and grabbed the bag of food. He reached inside and grabbed one of the containers and looked to his companion as he handed it over to her, chuckling as she grabbed at it greedily. "Geez… someone is hungry…"

"I'm trying to distract myself."

"Distraction through food… I think Sweets would have something to say about that." Booth nodded with a laugh.

"Oh! Sweets… he's… he called me today." She said as she dug into her carton of food and shoved a mouthful into her mouth.

"And what did he have to say?"

"He asked me if you and I had talked." She replied, swallowing her mouthful of food. "I told him that everything was back to normal… told him we'd see him at our next session."

"Right… normal… I'm still the butt of your conversations, and you're still suppressing your intense attraction to me." He said with a grin as he took a bite of his own meal, watching as she nearly choked on her food, her eyes watering with laughter as she watched his eyes smile across at her.

They fell into a comfortable silence, both devouring their meals as they sat, periodically looking to the other. Brennan sighed as she started to lift her feet from his lap, eliciting a glance in her direction. "Hey, where are you going?"

"I just…" She said as she paused, putting her feet to the floor, she put her empty food container on the table and looked around for her crutches. "I was going to um…" She nodded toward her bedroom as she pulled herself up.

"Bedtime casual?" He asked, watching her cheeks redden slightly as he smiled.

"I just thought I'd be more comfortable… if I changed… It has been a long day."

"But… we solved this case." Booth pointed out. "And now… we're having a nice relaxing date." He smiled as he reached over the couch and grabbed her crutches. He swung them around and handed them to her. "Do you need any help in there?" He asked as he watched her blush again.

"Thanks Booth…" She said with a smile. "I've think you've seen enough of my skin in the past week." She said as she nodded in thanks for the crutches and started to walk toward the bedroom on them. He watched her disappear behind the door, his mind wandering to how false that statement really was.

He finished his meal as he waited for her to return. He heard water running, and shifting around in the bedroom, he stood up carefully and picked up the containers from their dinner. He glanced into hers and noted that she had eaten every bit of it and he smiled thinking about her appetite and how she always pretended like she didn't have one, but the moment food was in front of her, she devoured it as if someone were going to take it from her. He found himself thinking about her lips, the way her tongue flitted over his teeth when she kissed, the way her hands raked through his hair when she accepted his mouth onto hers, the way she moaned when she…

"Booth." Her voice was almost stern, as if she had said it several times already and he hadn't heard her. His head turned, and their eyes immediately clashed as he took in a sharp breath. She was standing in the doorway, leaning on the crutch, soft gray sweatpants covering her long legs, and a dark blue camisole that made her eyes seem bluer than he already knew they were. He had memorized the color of her eyes and when he saw the enhancement, it literally knocked the breath out of him. Her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail, and he watched a smile threatening at the corner of her lips. "What are you doing?" she asked, noting the near slack jawed expression on her partner's face. He looked like he had been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing, and she watched for several moment, waiting for his answer.

"I was… um… I…putting… I was putting these in the garbage." He said, composing himself quickly as he stood up straighter, tossing the containers into the trash, he smiled across at her, smiling. She rolled her eyes and laughed slightly, turning on her crutches, she moved toward the couch. "Hey, hey… where are you going?" He asked, following her as he watched her turn and sit down hard on the couch, her leg lifting up onto the coffee table. "Wait, you said I couldn't put my foot up there…"

"And when you break your foot… you can." She said as she watched him smirk.

"I'm surprised that the coffee table allows your foot near it… I mean, after the blatant abuse that it had wrought upon it." He teased as she tilted her head and gave him a knowing glance that made him laugh.

"Why are you still standing up?"

"I don't know." He shrugged, sort of shifting from foot to foot, he didn't seem to really know where he belonged. She patted the couch cushion next to her, and with a shrug and a smile, he turned and sat down beside her, lifting his feet onto the coffee table with her, watching her disapproving glance, he laughed and put his head on her shoulder for a second.

"So…" She shrugged, her eyes on his for a second, as an awkward silence threatened to take over, their eyes meeting as he sighed happily. "Was there a reason for… bedtime casual?"

"Of course…" He replied. "And I thought about it." He said, watching her eyebrows rise. "We… are not technically on a date right now."

"We're not?" She asked, watching his hand creep toward hers, she grasped his tightly as he leaned closer and lifted her hand to his lips.

"No… no, this can't be described as a date." He said as he nodded. "Therefore… we're still, technically not dating."

"Because this isn't a date…?" She asked.

"Right."

"And… how do you figure?"

"Because… you are dressed casually… and… we are celebrating the close of a case, like we always do, with dinner…"

"But you told me to dress casual!" She laughed as she leaned her head on his, feeling his hand pull from hers, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, leaning against her as he let her cuddle into him.

"It still counts… if you and I were out on a date… you'd have to dress up."

"Really?" She giggled, turning her head to look into his eyes.

"Yes… you'd dress up… something… hot and flashy…"

"You don't think I'm hot now."

"Now, that… that I didn't say… hot and flashy… now you're hot and comfortable…"

"So there's a significant difference?"

"There is… Angela would know the difference… you definitely know the difference, maybe not by definition, but by action. You know hot and flashy, trust me." He replied. They sat together soaking in their togetherness as they tried their very best to remain as comfortable as they could, though the silence once again took over.

"How else would you describe a date with you?" She whispered softly, leaning her head against his shoulder as they cuddled together.

"Well… I'm traditional… flowers… dancing… opening car doors…"

"You would be a chauvinist?"

"I would." He nodded. "I would, and you would love it… because you could just go on and on about how chauvinistic I'm being, and I would absolutely accept it." He chuckled as she giggled.

"So… when will this first date occur?" She asked softly, turning her eyes to face the side of his face, watching the light trail of stubble on his cheek, the soft creases at the corner of his eyes, the way his smile reached his cheeks. His head turned suddenly, and she found herself lost in his eyes, she could feel her heart jump when those brown soulful eyes stared into hers.

"Saturday?" He asked, raising his eyebrows as she paused before answering, her breath and answer were held by his eyes as she slowly let a smile appear on her lips, reaching her eyes as she tilted her head.

"A real date?" She asked.

"A real date." He nodded.

"On Saturday…?"

"Saturday night."

"Flowers and Chauvinism."

"Like you have never seen before." He whispered, moving his nose to touch hers.

"What do we do until then?" She whispered, her eyes moving from his eyes to his lips and back again.

"I wouldn't mind going back to living in the moment." He shrugged, his eyes serious for a moment as the smile on her face disappeared, replaced with a serious expression.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

He answered with a tilt of his head, his lips finding hers in a tender, toe curling kiss, one that he broke off after a just a moment to her protest, he smiled as he felt her forehead lean against his. "I have another idea…" He whispered as he watched her eyes, he carefully pulled his arm from behind her and stood up.

"Where are you going?" She asked, watching as he moved around the couch and moved toward her stereo.

"I'm going to put on a little music…" He replied. "And then… we can talk." He said, moving his fingers over the cds, he picked a slow jazzy album with a singer that had a low, sultry voice. He turned around and watched as she watched him, he headed back toward the couch, where he settled beside her, wrapped his arm around her, kissed her cheek, and felt her body melt into his as the music took them away, together.


	39. Stay?

Brennan leaned her head against Booth's shoulder, the sultry voice of the singer danced through the air swiftly and sweetly. "Booth…?" She whispered as she felt his hand curling around hers tenderly, his fingertips playing with hers as she turned her head to look up at him. He continued to look out toward their feet on the coffee table, and as if startled, turned his head toward her. A smile flickered across her features, her eyes lighting up slightly.

"Hmm?" he asked softly, leaning forward he pushed his nose into her hair lightly, feeling her pull away a little, he groaned as he leaned a little further.

"Booth…" She said as she pushed away a little more, watching as he pulled his face from her hair, his eyes closed, his smile silly and enough to make her giggle. "I thought you wanted to talk."

He opened his eyes and nodded, sitting back slightly, he looked into her eyes. "Right… talk."

"You start."

"Start? Is this like a competition?"

"No… but you're the one that wanted to talk…"

"And I didn't hear any other ideas coming from the great Doctor Brennan."

"Doctor Brennan isn't here…"

"Bones?" he asked, watching her think for a moment, shake her head and smile.

"Temperance…" He growled as he moved forward and kissed her neck, listening to a squeak come falling from her lips, a sound that he had never heard from his partner before, and a sound that he wouldn't mind having her make again. He pushed back and pushed against the back of the couch, her eyes on him as he laughed at the sound she had made, his eyes full of a playful glint that she had only a glimpse of at times. "What… do you think your life would be like… if things didn't work out the way they did?" He asked, a smile still on his face though his tone was absolutely serious.

"What?" The question caught her off guard. One moment he was playfully nibbling at her neck, and now he wanted to have a serious conversation? She raised her eyebrows and questioned him without saying another word.

"Come on, Bones… humor me here…"

"If what hadn't worked out the way it did? Do you mean…where would we be if I didn't force you to drag me along in the field, or… where would we be if my parents hadn't deserted me as a kid. Two completely different scenarios, and I'm not sure that I'm comfortable contemplating either one." She replied seriously, her demeanor quickly changing to her more comfortable, distanced self, though she didn't move physically from her partner's side.

"It's a game, Bones."

"It's a psychological game. I don't play psychological games."

"No… no, Bones… it's not a psychological game because there's no analysis here, no judging…"

"Like a 'truth zone'?" She looked at him incredulously, tipping away from him as he laughed.

"No! No… like…a personal conversation… zone…" he said. "I'm not trying to trap you here, Bones. I'm just trying to learn more about you."

"By assuming what I would have been like if certain things in my life hadn't occurred? That's absurd… and there's no real way to quantify, no way to know how things would have gone if certain things in our lives had or hadn't occurred." She said as she sat up a little more, pulling from his arms, she looked into his eyes and he could feel her moving away from him emotionally as well.

"Bones." He sighed, trying his best not to placate her. That was one thing he knew better than to do, coddle her or make her even feel like she's being coddled. She liked an argument, so he was willing to give her an argument. "Stop being such a stick in the mud… just play along… it's a game."

"Fine." She said, without thinking. "Where do you think you'd be if your father wasn't an alcoholic?" As soon as the words fell from her mouth, she knew it was a mistake. His jaw clenched and he sat up, he leaned against his knees with his elbows and rubbed his face with his hand for a second. "Booth?" Her voice was small, almost if she were afraid of his response. "Booth, hey… I'm sorry…"

"No." He said, his response short, but not angry, his head turned to face hers and she could see something in his eyes that she was unsure of what it was. "It was a fair question." He replied. "If my father wasn't an alcoholic… I probably would have stayed in Philly." He nodded. Probably wouldn't have gone into the army… maybe I would have, I don't know. My brother probably wouldn't have been such a pain in the ass."

"You wouldn't have all of the anger that you hide behind this exterior." She ventured, her hand moving to touch his arm, he turned his eyes toward her and tilted his head.

"Yeah…" He said, pausing as he watched her implore him with her eyes. "For someone who doesn't like psychology… you're pretty good at it…"

"Stop that…" She replied as she tilted her head with a look of faux irritation. "You said this wasn't about psychology, it was about truth." She cleared her throat and sat back. "Okay… my turn… ask me a question." She shrugged, watching him.

"What… do you think your life would be like now… if your parents hadn't been bank robbers?" He asked honestly.

"I don't know." She answered quickly, watching his jaw drop slightly as he shook his head.

"I answered, now you answer… look at that, bank robbers, abusive… we are quite the pair."

"Yeah, and we're not learning anything new about one another." She said, shrugging.

"Come on, Bones… what would you have done if everything had turned out fine for you… if your parents didn't leave…?"

"I… don't know…" She shrugged.

"You think about it, Bones. I know you do." He insisted.

"If I were not a forensic anthropologist… I… guess I'd be a doctor of some kind." She shrugged. "I always liked science; I was always good at it. I was a bit of a tomboy, so maybe a surgeon or something, something to prove that I could excel in a field that was mostly male saturated." She said, her eyes never leaving his as she watched the small smile on own lips. "What?" She whispered as she watched him for a moment.

"Nothing… what?"

"You're staring at me." She whispered.

"I'm admiring you." He replied. "I'm not allowed to admire you?"

"You're making me nervous." She said, still smiling, she sat back and watched him for a moment.

"Nervous? I'm making you nervous? Are you saying that I intimidate you?" He asked, finding humor in the idea that this woman who rarely showed a weakness when it came to him, was admitting to being nervous. He moved closer to her, her eyes sparkling as he leaned into her. He let his lips brush hers lightly, bringing his hand to her cheek, she moved her lips into his, his arm touching hers as he felt her tremble slightly. She tipped her head forward, breaking the kiss as she looked him directly in the eyes.

"We can't help who we are, Booth." She whispered.

"No, no we can't."

"We can't change what made us who we are."

"You're right."

"And there's no way to know what the future holds."

"I agree."

"Booth?"

"Hmm?" he whispered, watching her smile at him as they continued to look into one another's eyes.

"Why aren't you dressed… in bedtime casual…?"

"Because my bed isn't here." He said, shaking his head as he felt her head nod slightly against his.

"What if it is…?"

"Then it's a good thing… that I brought my toothbrush…" he winked, as she suddenly began to laugh, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as he hugged her back and laughed with her.

"Booth…?" She mumbled against his shoulder as he held her close, kissing her neck softly.

"Hmm?" he whispered against her again, feeling her tremble in his arms. "Are you cold?" he whispered.

"Quite the opposite, actually." She replied honestly as she rested her forehead against his. "How are we going to do this for the rest of the week?" She whispered.

"Very carefully." He replied. "Aren't you having fun with it? You seemed to be having fun when you left me stranded in your office today."

He watched the smile on her face widen, as suddenly, she began to yawn.

"Woah…" he said as he pushed the hair behind her ear, tucking it in its place, he waited until her eyes opened again. "I should probably go… you look like you could use some sleep."

"Don't go." She said with a sleepy smile.

"Bones… I don't think that we should…"

"No… not for sexual intercourse, Booth."

"You make it sound so romantic." He rolled his eyes.

"Just… stay until I fall asleep."

"On the couch?"

"I don't care." She said honestly. "As long as you're here."

"Fine…" he said as he shifted a little, pushing himself against the couch, he started to lay down, pulling her with him, she swung her feet from the table onto the couch, being careful about her bad foot. "I will stay…" he whispered as he kissed her cheek and cuddled with her, pulling the blanket from behind the couch over the two of them. "But only because I like you." He whispered, as he felt her hands grip his hand that was encircling her, and they both settled in as they fell asleep entwined in one another's arms.


	40. Why do you cry?

Through the haze of sleep, Brennan heard a light whimper against her ear. The sound was soft, subtle, and at first she was unsure if she had heard it or actually had made the sound herself. Her mind settled, and she heard it again, an almost choked sob brushing across the delicate skin of her ear, and again. Someone was crying, and it wasn't her. She tried to move slightly, feeling the heavy wait around her body, she heard a sharp intake of breath and another muffled choked sob. She quickly realized the reason for her immobility, her partner's arm reached protectively around her waist, the dim light of her apartment showed that it was extremely early morning, and the first shades of sunlight were hitting the clouds delicately, making them glow a deep navy blue. Another sob, this time louder, mixed with a strangled 'No' that broke her heart.

"Booth." She whispered softly, touching his hands with hers, she rubbed his warm skin as she felt his arms tighten softly around her, his head buried in her hair. "Booth, wake up…" She whispered, hearing another whimper against her skin, she pulled herself from his arms slightly, turning her head to see that he had tears running down his cheeks. She almost didn't wake him up, out of fear of embarrassing him. She rolled in his arms so that she was lying face to face, noting his closed eyes clenching, his eyebrows raised as he whimpered again. She lifted her hand to his cheek, resting it delicately against his skin. "Booth." She whispered, "Please wake up." She said, noticing the pained expression on his face disappear, and his whimpering stopped. She found herself staring at his face, willing his eyes to open, she realized that from his rate of breathing and the way his eyes were moving under his lids that he was awake, only now refusing to open his eyes. "I know you're awake." She whispered.

"No you don't." He replied, his adam's apple bobbing with anxiety, his eyes still closed. She gently ran her hand across his cheek, wiping the wetness of the tears from them as she felt his arm that was around her lift. She suddenly felt cold, the closeness they had maintained through the night into the early morning hours was warm and refreshing, and suddenly she didn't feel that warmth any longer, as her partner lay facing her, his hand now resting on his side as he lie still, his eyes closed.

"Booth, it's okay." She whispered. "Crying is just a natural reaction to a trauma, or…" She stopped when his eyes opened suddenly, the sadness within the depths of his eyes had made his pupil's dilate, the brown depths of them a mere ring as he waited her to finish, but the look in his eyes made her lose track of her words. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay." He whispered.

"Bad dream?"

"It happens." She rolled farther onto her other side, carefully situating her foot so that it was hanging from the couch, her other foot moving forward, tucking between his legs as she pulled herself closer to him. She nestled her head into his chest and his arm encircled her again. "I should probably go."

"No." She stated simply, muffled by the shirt that Booth was wearing, she breathed deeply.

"No?" He asked, his chest vibrating with the gentle laugh, her hands now gripping his t-shirt, he was surprised by her neediness, her vulnerability.

"Not for me, for you." She replied, her answer surprising him, her eyes lifting to his again, she smiled lightly at him. "It's late…too late for you to be out driving, and you're warm… and comfortable."

"And you're sleeping on me."

"And I'm sleeping on you." She replied.

"You know… Angela… she's going to find out."

"Find out what? That we're dating? We're not dating…"

"Yes, but we're sleeping together." He whispered.

"Booth, we've been sleeping together for years…like this, that is. She'll find out, I'm fine with it…we're not dating."

"Not yet."

"Nope." She replied, allowing them both to slip into a companionable silence, his arms warm against her, their thoughts lingering in their own minds, until she finally broke the silence with two simple words. "Tell me?" She whispered.

His eyes focused on hers intensely, flickering to her lips and back to her eyes again. "Tell you what?" He asked, knowing full well what she was talking about.

"Tell me what made you cry." She whispered. "Tell me, because I want to make sure that I never let it happen because of me."

She felt him shift her in his arms, a slight smirk on his face, though his eyes remained sincere. "Bones, you won't make me cry. It was nothing."

"For a strong, alpha-male like you?" She said, giving him an incredulous look, she shook her head. "The only things I can imagine making you cry would be something that you had a strong emotional attachment to, something that you would be willing to lay your life down for."

"Shh…" he whispered, closing his eyes, he tipped his head down and leaned his forehead against hers. "Aren't you tired?" She whispered. "You look really tired."

"Changing the subject." She stated.

"Being obvious." He replied, a soft chuckle in his voice.

"You're going to tell me." She whispered. "You will tell me, I know you will…"

"You seem pretty sure of yourself."

"As sure as I know every bone in the human body." She said, closing her eyes.

"Wow." He whispered. "That's pretty damn sure."

"Just go back to sleep." She mumbled. "We have to go to work in a couple of hours." She whispered, warm in his embrace.

He leaned his head up and pressed his lips against her forehead, and returned once again to his rightful place, his head against hers, closed his eyes and took a deep breath as all of the frightening visions of his dream disappeared into oblivion.


	41. Ignore it!

The sound of Brennan's alarm in her bedroom blared through the apartment angrily. It didn't make her jump, only bury her head further into her pillow. She breathed deeply, finding that her pillow was a bit more muscularly defined than she last remembered, she smiled into it as she felt the arms around her tighten.

"My arm is asleep." A deep voice rumbled above her head, the vibrations of his voice resonating through his chest.

There was a pause, and he knew what would be flowing from her lips in just a moment, his smile was ready for her. "Actually, the sensation you're feeling is your blood vessels…"

"Being slowly crushed by my partner…" He said as her eyes finally ventured to his.

"It's not asleep."

"Neither are we." He said softly, listening to the unpleasant scream of the alarm. "How does that alarm not make your head explode as soon as it goes off?" He asked her curiously.

"The tone and pitch of the alarm isn't… oh, you were kidding." She said as she felt his body shaking with laughter. "I'm apparently not good with sarcasm this early in the morning." She mumbled as her smile disappeared, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink as she buried her head back in his chest.

"What time is it, anyway?"

"Six." She mumbled into his chest.

"Six is earlier than I remember." He replied, her answer being her eyes moving back to his as she stared into the laughter in his. His smile was contagious, and she found herself with one of her own plastered across her face.

"I should get up… take a shower…" She whispered, pulling at her good leg, she found it nestled deeply between his legs, her thigh resting comfortably between his, she raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, you should…" He said, his cheeks turning bright red as he lifted his leg and pushed hers out from between his, shifting, he helped her roll onto her back as she started to giggle.

"You don't have to be embarrassed, Booth… having an erec…" Her mouth was promptly covered by his hand as he rolled so that he was straddling her body, his eyes widening as she laughed beneath his hand, her eyes were filled with humor as he balanced himself with his arm.

"One more word, Temperance…" He whispered in a mocking threat as she suddenly lifted her good leg to shove him to the side, sending him tumbling off the couch onto the floor. "Ow… are you trying to kill me?" He exclaimed as he watched her smiling face appear over the edge of the couch, he couldn't help but laugh. "Well?"

"Are you okay?" She asked, her eyes starting at his eyes, and roaming down his chest, and continued traveling with a devilish smirk.

"Hey! Hey!" He exclaimed as she turned and flopped onto her back in a fit of laughter of how embarrassed she had made her partner.

"Is your arm… awake… ?" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm as Booth shook the numbness from his arm and chuckled.

"Maybe… why? Did you want to make fun of it too? Did you want to step on it… poke at it?" he teased.

"No…" She said, swinging her feet carefully, setting her booted foot on the ground beside him as she grabbed for her crutches, she watched him carefully stand up with a groan. "Shower." She said, picking up the crutches, she tucked them beneath her arms and walked toward the bathroom. She stopped when she realized he was following her, and he nearly ran into her as he stopped as well. She turned and looked at him, tipping her head as she shook it with an amused glare. "Alone… if you don't mind." She said with raised eyebrows and a slight giggle in her voice.

"Oh… oh… of course…" He nodded. "I was just heading toward your bedroom." He said with a bit of a stammer. "I have to make sure the um… I have to turn the alarm off."

"Oh…yeah." She said, watching him pass her, he turned around to note that she was still watching him.

"Are you watching me leave the room?" He asked, raising his eyebrows, giving her a mischievous grin that made her cheeks flush slightly.

"It wouldn't be the first time." She said, turning sharply as she entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her, leaving her partner to gape after her as he heard her laughter coming from within.

He watched the door for another moment, and shook his head, stepping into her bedroom. He walked over to the alarm and switched it off, turning around to find her bed a rumpled mess. He glanced to the doorway, and back to the bed, noting that the large king size bed looked so comfortable and inviting with the down comforter that she had across it, sporting native designs, the pillows soft and down filled and probably smelling of her. He grinned to himself and rolled in the air as he landed on the bed, on his back. He put his hands behind his head and breathed deeply, taking in the scent of his partner as it appeared to envelop him, covering himself with the blankets. He closed his eyes and relaxed. He was just drifting off when he heard her voice in the hallway.

"Booth?" Her voice was curious, and he burrowed himself further into her sheets as he listened to her call him, her voice floating through the apartment delicately, he could hear her trying to maneuver through the apartment on her crutches. "Booth?" She called again. "Where did you go?" She asked, coming around the corner of her bedroom, he peeked out from beneath his cocoon of blankets to see her standing in the doorway, her body wrapped in a towel, her hair wrapped in one as well as she held her crutches beneath her arms. Her brow furrowed when she turned from the room, and he couldn't help but chuckle. Her head moved so she was looking into the room, and he could see the smile creeping across her face. "There you are." She said as she shook her head. "What are you doing in here?" She asked, moving across the floor, she stopped beside the bed as he pulled the blankets from his face, looking up at her.

"Waiting."

"For?"

"You." He replied, reaching up, he grabbed her hand, making her lose her balance.

"BOOTH!" She exclaimed as she dropped the crutches in time to grab her towel. Her body crashed into his as he embraced her, feeling her struggling against him slightly as she rolled off of him, landing on her back laughing and still clutching her towel tightly. "I could have lost my towel!" She exclaimed as she continued to giggle, the grin on his face was undeniably one of the cutest she had ever seen.

"Would that have been such a big deal?" He asked, rolling onto his side, he leaned his head on his hand as he looked into her eyes, her smile was bright and happy, her eyes losing their focus on his for a split second when she looked at his lips. "Besides, it's not like I haven't seen you naked." He shrugged. "It's not like you haven't seen me naked." He shrugged, watching the gentle pink color rise in her cheeks as she gave him an incredulous head shake.

"You know you're incorrigible, right?"

"Yes… I'm very encouragable…" He said with a growl, leaning forward, he listened to her laugh against him as she moved away from him and put her hand on his shoulder to push him away.

"Incorrigible! Incorrigible!" She laughed as she continued to try to push him away, she gave up and let him roll on top of her, attacking her neck with kisses as she giggle. "Booth! Booth! Stop! We have to get to work!" She laughed.

"Work is for suckers… we don't even have a case." He said as he kissed her neck again and again, listening to a soft moan escape her lips.

"Booth…" She breathed. "We can't do this… this, now… we can't…" She said, with a non committal smack to his shoulder as she nipped his ear with her teeth, sending his lips growling into her skin once again. "Booth…" She said again, feeling his hands tugging at her towel, as the phone rang.

"Ignore it." He mumbled against her skin as she moaned slightly, the phone insisting that it be answered.

"I can't ignore it… it could be Angela, or someone else from work, it could be Cam checking in."

"She'll call back…" he mumbled against her skin.

"Booth…" She said as she held her towel tightly and tried to move out of his grasp, his hands holding her tightly against him. "Booth! Stop!" She said, though her voice was nothing more than an irritated grunt that made him chuckle against her skin, as the phone's ringing stopped.

"See… it listened to you." He said, looking up into her eyes as she smiled.

"The phone didn't hear what I said, it's an inanimate object that…" Her response was stopped short when his lips devoured hers, a groan of satisfaction for his method made him chuckle against her lips, as she opened her eyes to see the passion filled stare of her partner, his eyes suddenly smiling as he broke the kiss and grinned.

"Why didn't I think of shutting you up like that years ago?" He asked breathily, her giggle silenced by his lips on hers again, as suddenly the phone rang out again.

"I have to get it, Booth." She groaned as she pulled away from him with her good foot pushing her up and toward the phone on the bedside table, his hands reaching for her as she rolled onto her other side, facing away from him, lifting the phone to her ear. "Hello?" She said into the line, her voice a little higher than usual, she hoped that whoever was on the other line wouldn't figure out what was going on. She nearly squeaked when Booth's arm wrapped around her, she looked back at him and saw the mischievous grin, and she gave him a warning glare that only seemed to encourage him further. "Um… yes, I was just getting ready to come in, I was running a little behind… I got…" She elbowed Booth as he tried to kiss her ear, she saw him roll her eyes and nearly let out a laugh. "I was distracted… momentarily, but I was… Oh… that's this Saturday?" She asked, feeling Booth's kisses stop as she listened to the person on the line. Her eyes flashed to him and she saw a look of concern in his eyes. "I do have plans, unfortunately… oh." She said, the disappointment in her voice was evident. "Well, is my presence…? I see." She nodded as she felt the arms around her tighten. "No, Sir." She paused. "No… sir, no… it's…it's not a problem at all." She sighed. "Yes, I will see you Saturday, thank you…" She said, hanging up the phone, she pushed herself back into his arms and remained quiet.

"Who was that?" Booth asked as he simply held her, his voice serious and soft. He felt her grasp his hands tighter around her.

"We are going to have to postpone our flowers and chauvinism." She whispered.

"Why?" He whispered into her hair as he felt her sigh into him and pause again.

"I have a date." She replied, letting them fall into silence once more, the tension undeniable.


	42. Cool it

Booth said nothing as he drove toward the Jeffersonian, his eyes were on the road ahead, his hands gripping the wheel tightly as his jaw clenched. "Booth, I forgot about the charity ball. I'm sorry." She said, her voice starting off strong but tapering off to almost a whisper.

"It's fine." He said, though his voice was little more than an angry growl.

"Booth, please… I thought that… I mean, I thought we didn't want anyone to know we're dating, and I had made a commitment to this event months ago. All of the stakeholders from the museum are going to be there, and…"

"And your boss thought since you were single, he could send you off with one of these high brow, pinky flinging, money grubbing bureaucrats. How nice… that you're being sold off like a piece of meat."

"I'm not being sold off, Booth. I was asked… and it's not a donor that I've been asked to escort. It's a donor's son."

"Oh! Great!" Booth exclaimed. "So not only are you being forced to go to this event on the day that you and I were supposed to have a date, but you're being forced to escort some spoiled, entitled brat that gets whatever he wants because his daddy will buy it for him."

"Booth, I'm not being forced to do anything. I volunteered."

"You what?"

"Over a month ago… I volunteered… Mr. Sandborne is one of the Jeffersonian's biggest donors, and typically he doesn't bring his son along with him. In fact, they had cancelled nearly a week later. Since then, Mr. Sandborne has become ill, and his son needs a date."

"So they call you in to bat clean up, I get it…"

"I don't know what that means, Booth."

"Nothing, it means nothing… forget it." Booth pouted as he stared out the window and continued to drive. He glanced to her and noted that she was looking at her hands, her mood considerably quieter and more drawn in. "I'm sorry." He said softly.

"It's fine." She sighed.

"Bones… really, I'm sorry." He said, pulling into the parking structure at the Jeffersonian, he flashed his ID and was allowed entry.

"Really, Booth… it's fine. I'm sorry that I ruined our date night." She sighed as he pulled up in front of the elevator. "What are you doing?" She asked, watching Booth raise his eyebrows at her.

"Dropping you off." He replied. "I have to get to my place and take a shower… change. People around the office tend to notice when you wear the same clothes two days in a row… one of the reasons they call it the federal bureau of 'investigation'…" He replied with a snarky smile.

Bones rolled her eyes and glared at him, before giving him a tender smile. "Thank you for dropping me off."

"Thank you for letting me stay last night." He replied, his smile lighting up his face as he leaned slightly to the side, waiting for her to reciprocate. He was rewarded with a smile, one that reached her eyes and then some as she leaned forward, closer and closer to his lips. She then stopped. "What?"

"We shouldn't do this." She whispered.

"Do what?"

"Kiss… in the building… if we're not dating, then we can't be kissing, now can we?"

"Bones!" He exclaimed, though it sounded more like a whimper as he sighed. "We're not technically in the building." He said, their noses inches apart. He could feel her breath on his, their eyes staring into one another's as they tried to make a decision.

"We are most certainly in the building, Booth. There could be someone lurking in a car, or coming up behind us… or…"

"Okay, Hodgins…" He said sarcastically as he sat back and sighed heavily.

"What? Hodgins? I'm…why would you call me Hodgins?"

"Nevermind." Booth grunted as he glanced over at her confused expression. "Seriously, Bones… forget it. I'll see you later."

"Are you going to pick me up tonight?"

"I don't know." He sighed. "Maybe… maybe we should just cool it until after this charity thing." He said, turning his head to stare out the window, he was sure he had heard his partner nearly gasp in surprise. Though from her reaction, you wouldn't have thought so.

"Fine." She said curtly, turning toward the door, she grabbed the handle and launched herself from the car onto her good foot. "We'll just cool it…" She said, her voice very obviously filled with anger as he reached for her crutches, only to have her grab them before he got to them, swinging them from the middle of the seats, she nearly hit him with them.

"Watch it, Bones… you're going to impale me!"

"That would be awful." She said with a dull grunt as she turned, slammed the door and began making her way to the elevator. She pushed the button.

"Bones!" He exclaimed as he grabbed his key from the car and jumped out of the driver's seat, running around just as the elevator door opened, she stepped inside as he came around the back of the car.

"Booth, you can't leave your car there." She said, holding her hand out to stop him from getting into the elevator behind her, though the attempt failed miserably as he stepped into the elevator around her hand and turned her around just as the doors closed. "What are you doing?"

"I am doing what I wanted to do in the garage." He said as he dipped his head down and placed his lips on hers, holding her up as he felt her lose her footing slightly as her knees went slack. He kissed her for several seconds, and then pulled away, her eyes darkened with a mixture of emotions.

"I thought we were going to cool it." She whispered, swallowing hard. "That was definitely not… cool…" She said softly.

"No…" He said, smiling down at her. "Do you want me to pick you up tonight?" He whispered.

"Yes." She replied.

"Then I will pick you up tonight." He nodded, leaning down for another tender kiss, he stepped toward the door. "I will call you when I get to the office." He said, pushing the door open button, it opened right where they had left it. He walked out of the elevator and turned around, but not before hitting the button for the lab. He tipped his head and watched her dazed look, her lips still swollen slightly from the kiss as he raised his hand and waved, smiling as the doors closed on her, and the elevator took her upstairs to the lab.


	43. Waiting For You

Booth had gone to his apartment quickly, showering and changing as fast as he could. He jumped back into the SUV and before he knew it, he was walking out of the elevator at the Hoover building and quickly toward his office. "Someone is in a good mood." One of the other agents in the office remarked as Booth passed, noticing the smile on the agent's face, and not the usual concentrated scowl.

"So what if I am…" He said, the smile never leaving his face as he stepped into his office and toward his desk, allowing the door to close behind him. He stepped around the desk and slid into his desk chair, feeling lighter and happier than he had in months. As soon as he settled back in his chair he reached for the phone, pushing his speed dial button, he sat for a moment and waited. Second ring, and she picked up.

"Hey, Booth." She said, seemingly out of breath, her voice sounding slightly stressed.

"Bones, are you okay?" He asked, instantly noting the tension in her voice, he listened to her sigh.

"I'm fine."

Her reply was curt and short, and he instantly knew that someone was in her office. "Is it Angela?"

"Most likely." She said, giving away nothing in her tone.

"Is she trying to get information from you?"

"Very true." She said softly.

"I'll let you get back to it… I just wanted to let you know that I'm at the office… if you want to meet for lunch, we can."

"Sounds good." She said quickly.

"I miss you." He replied.

"Me too… See you later, Booth." She said, hanging up the phone.

He leaned back in his chair, smiling at the conversation, though feeling slightly bad for leaving her to deal with Angela on her own. He knew she'd be able to handle it, she was strong willed and very convincing and had the uncanny ability to change the subject at the drop of a hat. She was going to be just fine.

--------------

Brennan hung up the phone and looked across at the smirk on her best friend's face. "What are you smiling at?"

"Was that Booth?"

"I said his name at least twice in the conversation… yes, it was Booth." She replied almost coldly. "What did you need, Angela?"

"Well, I was going to come in here and tease you about Booth giving you a ride today… maybe mention how I drove past your apartment, and saw that Booth's car was sitting in his usual parking space… looking like it had been there all night long…"

"He picked me up, Angela… it's not an unsolved mystery."

"Oh, nevermind… I'll never get anything out of you anyway." Angela said as she stood up, sending her friend a smile across the room as Brennan shook her head and glanced to her computer before looking up at her friend.

"Besides, I have a date on Saturday... and not with Booth… it wouldn't be polite of me to be flirting with my partner when I've got plans to be with another man."

"You have a date on Saturday?" Angela asked, approaching her friend's desk, she leaned across it to look Brennan in the eyes. "You can't be serious…"

"It was arranged a while ago, for the charity function that we're throwing this year on the mall, don't you remember? Aren't you going?"

"Oh… yeah, that's this weekend?" Angela asked incredulously. "I guess I have to go… it's one of those 'show your parents what you did at school' things, you know? It's ridiculous… like we have to prove something to these bureaucrats." Angela sighed.

"You're beginning to sound like Hodgins." Brennan said, a playful smirk on her lips and Angela smiled and shook her head.

"I'm going to let you get back to work." She said, ignoring the comment from her friend as she stood up. "What does Booth think of this date that you have on Saturday?" She asked flippantly as she walked toward the door.

"Booth doesn't care, Angela…"

"I'm sure he doesn't…" She said, laughing and rolling her eyes as she left her friend in her office to contemplate her decision to accept the date when things between she and her partner were blossoming and growing in a new and exciting direction. She stared at the open door to her office and sighed, her good mood from earlier completely diminished, when suddenly her phone rang again.

"Brennan." She said in a tired voice.

"I miss you." The familiar voice stated, and as quickly as it had been stated, he had hung up. And just like that, the smile lifted on her lips and she felt butterflies in her stomach as she put the phone back on its cradle, laughing to herself slightly as she picked her pen up and began to take notes, as she breathed in the scent of him that still lingered on her skin, and wished that it were possible for time to speed up just a little bit more, just so she could get through it to lunch.

------------

Though time didn't speed up, it was good to Brennan, and before she knew it, it was time for her to head down to the parking garage to meet up with her partner. She grabbed her bag and swung it over her shoulder, standing carefully to grab her crutches, she moved swiftly toward the elevator. She knew she wasn't far enough away when she heard the humored ring of her best friend's voice, and she tried not to smirk when she heard her shout something about having fun on her lunch date. She turned her head and waved, her face expressionless as she rolled her eyes. "I will." She said, watching her friend roll her eyes and smile as she turned and moved through the glass doors.

As soon as she was out of sight, she found herself smiling, and she liked that feeling, so she sighed happily and made her way toward the elevator. She pushed the button and waited patiently, her eyes moving to the floor as she waited. Her thoughts were swimming through her mind as she prepared herself mentally for meeting Booth in the parking garage, almost excited to get out of the lab, she nearly laughed out loud at the thought. She heard the gentle sound of the elevator's bell as the doors slowly parted, and her eyes immediately caught on a familiar pair of shoes. She lifted her head and was greeted by a warm smile as he stepped forward to meet her half way. "I thought you were meeting me in the…"

He moved his head to the side of hers, his hot breath on her ear as he whispered breathily. "And miss my opportunity to make out with you like a horny teenager in the elevator? Never…"

She blushed, a smile creeping across her lips as their eyes met, and the brown depths of his eyes were saying something much more sincere than his lips, something much more serious and earth shattering. She felt his hand on the small of her back, and with a quick movement, she pulled herself into the elevator and against one of the walls, watching him nearly strut back into the elevator. He smiled as he pushed the button, leaning against the wall beside her as they waited for the doors to close. "Are there cameras in here?" He asked immediately in a throaty whisper, his curiosity sending shivers up her spine as she watched the playful look in his eyes.

"I don't think so." She managed to say, her eyes dancing innocently across his features as she watched him smirk and nod, staring at the closing doors.

"Good…"

As the doors closed, he was before her in an instant, their trip to the garage would not be one of awkward silence if he had anything to say about it, and he did. He gently placed his fingertips on her arm, and at the base of her neck, as he held her up, her arm rising to allow the crutches beneath them fall to the floor with a self satisfying 'thwack'. She met his lips half way, loving the way his fingertips rolled their way through her hair allowing his fingertips to massage her scalp softly, his warm breath and lips caressing hers almost immediately. He tasted like coffee and something sweeter, his scent made her pulse race as his hand on her arm squeezed gently, and her arm reached up, and her hand grasped his suit jacket to pull him closer to her.

"Mmm…" he groaned against her lips as he felt her increase the pressure between the two of them, the sound of the elevator passing each floor increased the intensity of the kiss as they knew that the moment was fleeting, and when she moaned softly into his mouth, it only succeeded in making the kiss more urgent. Unfortunately, they had come to the garage floor quicker than either of them would have liked, and he pulled away begrudgingly, his eyes reflecting her disappointment as he ran his finger through her hair one more time before leaning down to grab her crutches, handing them to her carefully, but being sure to push himself against her slightly as he did so. Their eyes met just as the doors opened, and he took a overly innocent step forward. "Ready to go, Bones?" He asked, turning to see she was still staring at him wide eyed and very much not satisfied, but at the same time, very happy.

"Uh huh…" She muttered as she adjusted her bag and began to move out of the elevator, excusing herself from a couple of Jeffersonian workers who were waiting for the elevator. "Excuse me…" She whispered as she looked up to see the retreating form of her partner. "Booth…" She called, feigning irritation as he turned and flashed her a smile. "Just wait a second…" She said, listening to the elevator door close behind her, her irritated glare turned into a full smile that sent his heart racing. "Wait for me…" She whispered.

"I am…" He replied, watching her tilt her head as she made her way toward him. "I'm waiting for you."


	44. Green Eyed Monster

Brennan watched out the window of the car as Booth drove down an unfamiliar street in the opposite direction of their usual lunch venues. "Where are we going?" She asked, glancing to her partner as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, his eyes suddenly on her, a playful glint sparkling within them as he smiled a sideways grin.

"You'll see."

"I hate surprises." She replied, in anticipation, though she made it sound like she was none too pleased with his plan.

"I know you hate surprises… and you hate psychology, and you hate meat, and you hate…"

"Are you saying I'm a hateful person?" She asked, mildly offended by his ramble that wasn't meant to incite anything, just give him an outlet to babble on endlessly.

"No! No… no… Bones, I was teasing." He defended, watching her eyebrow rise with the corner of her lip as she waited for the smile to return to his lips. "So now you're messing with me?"

"I won't mess… with you." She said awkwardly. "If you tell me where we're going."

"Someplace private." He said in a soft tone, his hand moving toward her, wrapping securely around hers, she felt her cheeks burning slightly. "Is that okay?"

"That's fine." She said, staring out the window, she could feel her fingers twitching slightly in his, her stomach rolling around in her abdomen nervously as she felt his thumb running slowly over the skin of her hand.

"Are you alright?" He asked, immediately noticing her flushed appearance, he wasn't exactly sure, because he had never seen it before, but he believed that she, Doctor Temperance Brennan, was swooning.

"I'm fine… just… a little warm." She whispered.

Suddenly, the warmth of his hand was slowly lifted from hers. He needed to put his hand on the wheel to turn, and she instantly felt the coolness overtake her once warm hand, and a slight chill make its way down her spine, a frown rising involuntarily on her lips. After a moment, his hand was again enveloping hers, and again she could feel the heat radiating through her body.

"Are we almost there?" She asked as she glanced to him, her hand squeezing his tightly as he squeezed hers back.

"Almost there, my impatient forensic anthropologist." He replied as her brow furrowed at his lack of attempt at a term of endearment.

"This is a date, right?" She asked, feeling his hand squeeze hers again, his charming smile made her stomach do another flip as he glanced toward her.

"This is not a date…"

"Ange called it a lunch date. You're taking me someplace private… it's just you and me…"

"Still, no flowers, and we're wearing our work clothes… it's a lunch meeting."

"A lunch meeting?" She said, incredulous. She let out a laugh and it caused his smile to widen.

"Yes… a professional… run of the mill… sexy lunch meeting." He said with a chuckle that made her laugh as she let go of his hand, making his hand cold this time, the playful way she brushed his hand away was the only consolation. He pulled into a parking lot of a small café, tables were set up outside, and there were a few people here and there, but it was a very quiet neighborhood away from the busy city, and the setting was almost peaceful.

He parked the car and moved around it as Brennan grabbed her things. She reached for the door only to find that it was already opening. "I thought this was a lunch meeting." She said with a playful glare that forced his smile even wider.

"It is… but that doesn't mean that I can't be a chauvinist." He said, waiting for her to grab her crutches. She set them on the ground and he helped her carefully from the car. She shoved her bag onto her shoulder and her crutches under her arm, and felt the gentle pressure of his hand at her back as they made their way toward the door of the café.

---------------

They were seated at a small table out on the front porch, the green umbrella above them was flapping in the cool breeze, but they were content in their corner of the porch. The conversation was light and friendly, and the awkwardness was almost completely gone as they laughed and enjoyed one another's company. "So he thought that if he hid under his bed long enough, that you would think he had gone to school?" Brennan asked in a humored tone, watching the happiness in Booth's eyes as he told the story.

"Yeah… I don't know what made him think that I'd forget that he was there that day, and I drive him to school, so he couldn't have gotten there without me."

"Perhaps he figured that you're too tired in the morning to remember such things as bringing him to school, since you don't do it on a regular basis."

"Doesn't help when his shoes are by the door." Booth laughed, listening to Brennan laugh with him, the melodic sound was music to his ears as he looked up at the waitress as she brought their lunches. She placed a salad in front of Brennan, whose eyes widened in surprise.

"This salad is huge…" She said with a smile as Booth smiled across from her as the waitress put Booth's sandwich on the table and asked if they needed anything else.

"I think we're alright for now, thank you." Booth said, his eyes never leaving Brennan's as she smiled and unwrapped her fork from the napkin. She dug it into the salad and looked up, noting that his eyes were focused on hers, and they were smiling right along with his lips.

"What?" She asked as she took a forkful of lettuce and put it in her mouth, enjoying the taste, she watched him.

"Nothing." He replied. "I'm just… I like this."

"Booth, we have lunch meetings… all the time." She said after she swallowed the first bite, poking the salad for another, she looked back up.

"This is different." He said with a shrug.

"Different is good, right?"

"Different is very good."

"Anthropologically speaking, differences are a…" She paused, noting that his eyes were looking directly into hers. "What?"

"Nothing, I was listening."

"You don't normally listen to my… rants…"

"Ah… but I'm a gentleman… and they're not rants… you're just entertaining me with your breadth of knowledge." He said as he lifted his sandwich and took a bite.

She watched him for a moment, regarding his mannerisms and the way he was watching her as they both continued to eat in silence. "You haven't brought up the weekend."

"What is there to bring up?"

"That I have decided to go through with Chad Sandborne."

"Chad?" Booth guffawed. "The guy's name is Chad? You're kidding me, right?" Booth laughed.

"Booth! That's not polite."

"What? It's a typical white bread, richy rich name… Chad…" He said with a snort.

"Booth, stop, please."

"I just don't think it's fair… You dressing up for someone else… It's not fair to me."

"Booth, this was a commitment I made before you and I were… before we were involved. It was already arranged, there's nothing I can do."

"Tell them that you're otherwise occupied… that their decision came on too late… tell them that you have a boyfriend."

"I don't have a boyfriend." She said pointedly, sitting back in her chair, she stared across at the surprised look on Booth's face. "What?"

"For all intents and purposes, I am your boyfriend."

"Yes… and does that mean you can lay claim to me? No… Regardless of my relationship with you, or any other man for that matter… I can maintain my professionalism."

"And what if he tries to dance with you?" He asked, his jaw setting as he watched her eyes flicker away from his.

"Well, it is a ball Booth… and I am his date. I suppose I would dance… if I were able, which… with my foot, I'm sure I won't be able."

"But if your foot was fine, and he asked you to dance, you'd agree to it?" Booth asked, his voice was filled with irritation as he waited for her reply.

"Of course." She said, watching his eyes become darker. "Oh, Booth… stop it with the jealousy…"

"I'm not jealous."

"That's ridiculous, you're pouting."

"I am not pouting, Bones." He said, his voice rising slightly as he became more defensive.

"Booth, keep your voice down, you're making people stare."

"People aren't staring, Bones. Stop being paranoid. You just want me to drop this, and I won't. I want you to cancel your plans on Saturday."

"Absolutely not." She replied angrily, pushing her chair away from the table slightly, she reached for her crutches.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to visit the ladies room." She said with a huff as she started to stand up.

"Bones… come on… stay and talk to me." He said as he reached out to grab her arm softly, she wrenched her hand back and began to tumble. Booth was in his seat, and couldn't move fast enough. Before he knew it, she was tumbling backwards into another table, luckily it was empty, but it didn't stop her from slamming her head into the metal chair beside it. "Bones!" Booth exclaimed as he leapt forward and grabbed for her, she was conscious, the fall not nearly as hard as it could have been, but she was staring at him dazed. "Bones, are you alright?" He asked as he grabbed for her arm to help her up. Just as he touched her, she pulled it back.

"Don't touch me!" She exclaimed as she glared at him angrily.

"Bones, come on, let me help you up…"

"No." She said angrily, noting that people were really staring now, she could feel the tears stinging in the corner of her eyes. "Don't touch me." She said, watching him take a step back as she rolled to her side and attempted to stand up, grabbing the railing of the porch.

"Bones, you hit your head… are you okay?"

"It doesn't matter." She said as she managed to lean against the railing, grabbing her crutches, she moved toward the chairs and sat down, her eyes downcast as she looked at her salad, less than hungry now.

"Bones, I'm sorry…" He said softly, watching her poke at her lunch for a moment. "Come on, talk to me…"

"I think you're right." She whispered as she swallowed hard, sniffling slightly as she tried desperately not to cry. She was feeling absolutely mortified. One or two people were still looking in their general direction, and she could feel the fire burning in her cheeks.

"I'm right?"

"Yeah." She said as she looked up at him with an intense stare. "Maybe we should cool it." She said, looking down at her salad, she poked at it for a moment and shoved a forkful into her mouth, angrily refusing to look up at her partner for the remainder of the meal.


	45. Drop it

The ride back to the Jeffersonian was in complete silence. Booth had tried on multiple occasions to get her to talk to him, but found that she would have nothing to do with it, her concentration was instead on the landscape around them as they traveled toward the city and the museum. "Bones… please talk to me about this…"

"About what, Booth?" She finally said, glancing to him with an irritated glare. "I have responsibilities. I am a much needed commodity, and my company is not only appreciated, but it is demanded. I can't bilk my responsibilities simply because you think I am better off with you than someone who had taken the time to recognize the importance of the Jeffersonian, and donated money."

"So you're saying that because I'm not rich… and because I don't give money to the Jeffersonian, then I'm not worth your attention?"

"I did not say that!"

"That's what you're acting like, like I'm some common person or Neanderthal that can't eat with a fork and knife! And look at you, pumping your ego as you go along! Why can't you just be modest… why can't you keep a little mystery?"

"Because I am the very best in my field, Booth! I have earned the right to let others know that!" She practically screamed at him, her eyes full of anger.

"There goes your ego… inflating like an oversized punching bag so that you can hit me in the face with it and make me feel like I'm two feet tall…" He argued back, jerking the car angrily as he turned a corner, sending her arm slamming into the door.

"Booth! Don't drive like a maniac! Just because you're mad at me, doesn't mean that you should put my life in danger!"

"Me? Put your life in danger?" He said angrily. "Are you serious? You think I would actually try to hurt you? I spend every day trying to keep you from killing yourself, and you think that I'm capable of hurting you?"

She stopped, realizing that what she had said had really cut him to the core. She watched the anger in his eyes and when she didn't answer right away, it wasn't because she didn't know what to say, it was because she knew she had gone over the line by suggesting that he would hurt her. She wanted to reply, she wanted to reassure him, but she could tell by the set jaw, and the white knuckles on the steering wheel that he was beyond apology.

"I took you out for an enjoyable lunch at a special place to me. I picked you up and held your hand. I opened the door for you… treated you like a gentleman, and the only thing you've done is insult me. You insulted my driving, insulted my integrity, and insulted my pride! I'm sick of this, Temperance, I'm sick of it!" He exclaimed as he suddenly slammed his foot down on the brake. "Now get out." He said angrily.

Her mouth was slightly ajar as she stared at him, surprised and confused. "You want me to get out, but we're…" She paused, realizing that they were at the front doors of the museum. "Oh, we're… here."

"Yeah, we're here… and I guess you'll have to go through the main doors like a common person, do you think you can handle that?" He asked with a sharp sound if disdain in his tone. "Do you want them to roll out the red carpet for the queen of forensic anthropology?" He asked as she felt the tears prickling her eyes again. "You treated me like crap at that restaurant because you were throwing a fit and took a misstep… I deserve better, and if anyone should know that, I thought it would be you." He said angrily as he watched a tear fall from her eye. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest, his adrenaline flowing fast and angrily, though the look on her face was so lost and could feel his brain screaming at him to stop, his heart slamming in his chest as he tried desperately to say something to let her know that he was sorry, that all the words he had spoken were spoken in anger, but before he could even say a word, she was out of the car, her crutches in hand, hobbling quickly toward the building.

He watched her until she stepped through the doors, her body moving quickly and angrily into the building. Pushing his thoughts and emotions to the back of his mind, he sighed, swallowed hard and slammed on the gas, making his way as quickly as possible toward his office.

------------------

Brennan exited the elevator at the floor of the lab and made her way quickly toward her office without looking at anyone. "Hey, how was the…" Angela said as she looked up to see the tear streaked face of her friend as she refused to look up. "Oh crap…" She said as she walked off the platform and quickly followed Brennan. "Bren, come here, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She grunted as she entered her office, throwing her crutches in onto the floor, she turned around and put her hand on the door, blocking it from Angela or anyone from entering. She stared at Angela for a second, and could see the look of pity on her face.

"What did he do to you?" Angela whispered.

"Drop it… just drop it, okay? I have some work to do in my office… if anyone is looking for me, tell them that I'm busy." She said as she moved to close her doors.

"Sweetie…" Angela said softly, her tone was so full of pity that it made Brennan's stomach knot.

"I'll be fine… just… don't let anyone disturb me." She said with a sigh as she closed her door and stood with her hands on it for a moment. She felt for a moment like she wanted to kick something, she couldn't understand the feeling in her chest, the feeling in her stomach, her head. Everything was swirling around, threatening to crash down at her right at that moment. Suddenly her phone started to ring. She knew who it was, and she was not in the mood. She grabbed the arm of the couch and moved herself carefully toward it, rolling her body onto the soft cushions, she closed her eyes, covering her face with her hands, as she tried to calm herself down.

After the seventeenth ring, and still no message, she carefully sat up. "Ange?" She said her name not too loudly, but also knew that her friend was most likely still standing just outside the door. The door opened and Angela peeked her head inside, her eyebrows raised.

"Can you bring me home? I think I'm done for the day." She said softly, happy when her friend just simply nodded, and turned to find her car keys.


	46. The Blonde in the Bedroom

Brennan took the entire ride in silence. Angela watched her friend's face and knew that now was not the time to ask questions. She sighed in resignation as they pulled up to her apartment, and Angela turned to her friend as she opened the door. "Bren… do you want me to talk to him? Kick his ass?"

"No." She said sternly, quickly. "Ange… no, it's a long story… and it's not entirely his fault that I'm upset." She said, watching her friend's eyes as she nodded in understanding. "Promise me that you won't talk to him, please." She said, her eyes earnest and stern at the same time. "Promise me."

"I promise." Angela said. "But don't think I don't know where to kick him to make it hurt, Sweetie. I'd do that for you."

"I know you would." Brennan said with a kind smile, climbing from the car, she grabbed her bag and her crutches and gave Angela a wave and closed the door, turning to make her way to her apartment. Angela watched her move quickly down the sidewalk and into the building, disappearing in the doors, she then drove back toward the lab.

------------------

It was after eleven o'clock in the evening and Booth still had not called her. She had arrived home a little after one in the afternoon, and kept herself busy with her outline for her next book, a little bit of reading, some paperwork, and if she wanted to admit it, perhaps a little bit of daydreaming. But now it was eleven o'clock in the evening, and Wednesday evenings were boring enough on their own without the knowledge that there was a particular FBI agent not too far away that had been angry enough to shout at her, and make her feel like she was worthless, even if she had to logically admit that her behavior was a bit on the childish side. Though, as childish as she had acted, sitting alone on her couch she could only think about how unfair it was that since the phone calls to her office, he hadn't even once tried to call her at her home or on her cell phone.

In fact, she was more than just irritated with the fact that he hadn't called to check on her, to apologize for the harsh words, or to just pretend that it hadn't happened. She was livid. She sit on her couch with her broken foot elevated, her other foot tucked under herself as she held a cup of tea in her hands that had long since gone cold. She stared at the wall as she clenched her jaw again and again, her eyes flashing to the phone as she fought the tears that had threatened to come running down her cheeks. The anger was too much for her, the irritation of him thinking that he could treat her that way, to act jealous and then pouty and then high and mighty, calling her a selfish person. She could feel her fingers tighten around the cup in her hands, and sighed, rolling her eyes.

"I may as well just go to bed." She mumbled to herself with an audible sigh. She carefully pulled herself from the couch, her eyes moving to the phone on the table beside her, she leaned forward and lifted the phone from the cradle just to make sure there was a dial tone. The sound from the phone made her angrier, and she slammed it down hard as she made her way toward the bathroom. She moved across the bathroom threshold and toward the sink, stopping as she passed the spot where her mirror used to reside, her eyes narrowing yet again in annoyance. She washed her face, brushed her teeth and prepared for bed slowly, and every ache of her foot reminded her of her partner, every time she turned around there was something else that reminded her of him, and made her just a little angrier. She moved from the bathroom toward her bedroom, and as soon as she saw her bed, the sheets and blankets in disarray, her towel strewn across it, she remembered their morning roll on the bed, the playfulness in his eyes and in his touch, the way that he held her, and the way she held him the night before. She had been tender, she had been selfless… who does he think he is? She could feel the anger burning up in her stomach, the frustration in her mind, and with her mind made up, she twirled around and quickly she found her shoe, found her keys, and very quickly made her way out of the apartment and toward her car, wondering all the while how she was going to drive a standard vehicle with a 'moon boot' on.

-------------

Booth had just begun to fall asleep on his bed, the television playing lightly, late night talk shows abound. He rolled over to see the body beside him, covered by the blankets breathing tenderly and sleepily. Booth smiled slightly, knowing that he most likely wouldn't be getting much sleep, and leaned down to kiss his bed partner lightly, when suddenly the frantic sound of pounding on his front door woke him completely, and sent him leaping from the bed and toward the front door.

"Booth! I know you're still awake!" Brennan exclaimed as she pounded the door again with her fist.

Suddenly, the door opened and Booth appeared, shirtless and seemingly embarrassed, pushing his way out of the apartment, he closed the door behind him as he confronted his partner. "Bones… it's almost midnight, why are you pounding at my door?" He exclaimed in a low whisper as he held her knocking arm in his.

She pulled her arm back and glared, poking him in the chest. "You didn't call me!" She exclaimed, her voice was full of anger, her eyes wide and a darker blue than usual.

"I was kind of… busy… I'm sorry, I should have called." He said quickly, whispering.

"There's no excuse! There is no excuse for you not calling me… you were mean to me, and then you just leave me hanging for the rest of the day, and…"

"Bones, keep your voice down."

"I will not keep my voice down! I am angry, and I'm trying to express my emotions! I'm very angry with you, Seeley Booth!"

"Bones, seriously… please, keep your voice down." He said, noticing her frazzled appearance, the hint of tears in her eyes. She now just stared at him.

"How did you get here?" He asked, looking at her foot.

"I drove…" She said, her voice was getting lower as she finally noticed that they were standing in the hallway instead of his apartment. "Why didn't we go into your place?"

"Because you were yelling…" He whispered.

"And there's someone in there that you don't want to hear me yelling?" She asked, glaring at him as his eyes became more intense on hers, as if telling her to stop right there, to not say another word.

"Bones…"

"What, Booth? There is someone in there, isn't there? Isn't there?" She growled.

"Bones… stop." He said, reaching out, he touched her shoulders. He was surprised at first that she didn't pull away from him, but from her appearance, he could tell that she was exhausted. "Just… stop, okay…?" He whispered. "I am sorry that I didn't call you." He said. "I want to make that perfectly clear to you… I'm sorry, and I should have called you. I was an ass to you earlier, and I got so caught up in what was going on today, that I didn't have a chance to do that, and I figured you were so mad with me, that you didn't want to hear from me anyway." He replied.

"No…" She mumbled, watching him nod.

"And… yes, there is someone in my apartment, in my bedroom right now… that I don't want to hear your yelling." He whispered, watching the anger rise up in her eyes, she started to pull away, but his grip was on her arm, even tighter. "Bones, it's Parker!" He exclaimed, a smile coming to his lips at his partner's assumption. "It's Parker, Bones…" He laughed, watching her face turn red in embarrassment, she glared angrily at him for fooling her, for making her think there was someone else. "Rebecca's sister went into labor in the afternoon… Rebecca asked me to watch him today and into tomorrow, and possibly into Friday so that she can help her sister with the baby… Bones, it's just Parker." She just stared at him for several moments, and Booth was unsure what she was thinking.

"Sometimes…" She whispered, her eyes lightening as she spoke. "I don't know whether to kiss you… or kill you." She whispered, quoting him from days before, she watched the smile rise on his lips slowly as he laughed softly.

"I prefer the former… rather than the latter." He whispered, reaching for her hand, he found himself holding her up as she reached her arms up and wrapped them around the back of his neck, her lips on his as he groaned against her mouth. They kissed for a moment, their tongues dancing delicately as she broke the kiss and rested her head on his bare chest. "Bones… we should get inside…" He whispered. "I mean… if you… want to stay…"

She looked into his eyes, resting her forehead against his for a moment as she sighed softly. "You infuriate me." She whispered. "You make me think and act illogically, irrationally."

"And you… never fail to drive me insane…" He said with a wry smile, he leaned back and opened the door, he ushered her inside. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, repositioned her crutches properly, and moved into his apartment as he followed her inside and closed the door behind them.


	47. Bones

Brennan entered the apartment ahead of Booth, looking around to see the markers that Booth's son was indeed in the apartment somewhere, not that she didn't trust him or believe him. "Sit down, Bones…" Booth said from behind her. "We should probably talk…" He said softly.

"Yeah." She agreed, turning herself around, she sat down on the couch and pulled the crutches to the side of her. She watched as he sat down beside her and watched her for a moment. "Your words hurt me today."

"I know, Bones. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you, or your work… I am just…"

"Envious… I understand." She nodded, sighing as she stared at Booth's coffee table for a moment instead of looking over at him. "I know that it can be intimidating to be around people who have a higher IQ. I also know how you feel about people that are rich, so I understand your initial reaction to this was…"

"No, Bones…" Booth interrupted, her mouth open for a moment, before she snapped it shut and gave him an imploring look. "I just don't want to share you… rich or poor… I want your attention for me."

"There's nothing that I can do about it now, Booth." She said, watching his posture stiffen slightly. "I made a commitment, and they are very important donors to the Jeffersonian. If I were to decline the offer, it would be seen as disrespectful." She whispered, watching his jaw clench. "Your jealousy is very encouraging." She said, watching the dark pupils of his eyes shrink slightly with her words, his focus was completely on her, and when she had mentioned his jealousy, it had made him feel slightly embarrassed.

"It is still a date." He replied.

"Ah… no… no it isn't…" She said, holding her finger up in reason, she shook her head. "You said that a date is about flowers and chauvinism. I don't expect to get flowers from this man, and if I do, it's only out of respect… and as far as chauvinism…" She said with a slight cringe. "I'd have to break his arm if he tried any of that…" She said as his eyes widened in surprise before he chuckled. "There is absolutely no need for you to be jealous, Booth… I only want flowers and chauvinism with you… this thing on Saturday… think of it as if I'm just working late… another day at the lab." She replied.

"So you'll treat this guy as if he's a murder victim?" Booth asked, watching her raise her eyebrows and nod.

"Yes… completely emotionally detached." She nodded.

He watched the sincerity in her eyes, his eyes turned just as serious as he watched her. "I overreacted earlier." He said softly. "And… I should have let you go to the rest room when you wanted to, and I should have been more concerned when you fell." He whispered. "Your head?" he asked, reaching up to touch the back of her head, her hand met his and she placed it on the slight lump that was present.

"Contusion." She whispered. "But it was fine, it wasn't a glancing blow… I will survive it, I'm sure." She said as she leaned into his touch, her head settling on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. "I'm sorry that I was harsh with you today. I'm sorry that I acted like it didn't matter that I was going with another man to this event. I should have understood what you were feeling, but sometimes… most times… I can't… predict the reaction, you know? I don't know how you're going to react, how anyone would react to that situation."

"You seemed pretty jealous when you were under the impression that I was hiding a woman in my bed." He teased as she simply burrowed further into him.

"I was not jealous…" She mumbled against him.

"Temperance…" He whispered into her hair, kissing her head as he held her.

"Hey…" The sound of Parker's voice interrupted the two adults, and Brennan sat up and pushed away from Booth, though he held her tightly. "You left the tv on, Daddy…" He mumbled, having not noticed that there was another person in the apartment.

"Sorry about that, bub…" Booth replied, watching his son rub his eyes and yawn. All he could see from where he was standing was that his father's arm was around someone. "Who is that?" He asked, his brow furrowing in confusion as he pointed to the other person on the couch.

"Hello, Parker." Brennan said, sitting up, she felt Booth's arm fall to her back as she looked behind her and smiled at the little boy.

"Oh…Bones…" He said with a sleepy smile. "It's only you…" He said, walking forward, he came around the other side of the couch and his jaw dropped when he saw the cast on her foot. "Oh wow! How did that happen?" He exclaimed, looking up at Brennan with a curiosity only a boy's face could hold.

"Well, in a moment of…"

"She kicked a table and broke her foot." Booth said, coming to the rescue of his son who was most likely not prepared for the overly scientific explanation that he could sense coming from his partner.

"Whoa! That happened from kicking a table?"

"You should have seen the table…" Booth teased, feeling Brennan's elbow digging into his ribs slightly. "Ow…" He said with a chuckle. "You should be in bed, little man…" Booth said as he started to stand up.

"I was in bed… and now I'm awake… can I stay up with you and Bones?" He asked, looking up at his father with pleading eyes. "Please, please?"

"Not tonight, bud." Booth said, glancing to his partner, who watched the little boy still staring at her foot.

"Does it hurt, Bones?"

"Yeah, yeah… it hurts…. Bed…" Booth said as he tried to usher his son back into the bedroom.

"But dad, I wanted to say goodnight to Bones…"

"Goodnight, Bones…" Booth said as he continued to pull him toward the room.

"Goodnight Parker…" Brennan said as he escaped his father's hold and ran toward her. He reached his arms out and caught her by surprise with a big hug.

"Goodnight Bones!" He said with a smile, he grinned wickedly as he looked back at his father, his smile disappearing when he saw the stern look on his face. "See you tomorrow, maybe…" He said with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah… maybe we'll all have lunch at the diner or something…"

"Yes!" Parker exclaimed happily as he ran into the room in front of Booth. Booth glanced back to Brennan and indicated that he'd be right back. She smiled and nodded as he disappeared in the room.

After about ten minutes, Booth emerged from the room ready to tell Brennan about the million questions his son had for him as he tucked him back in, but he walked around the couch and found that she had rested her head on her hand, and had promptly fallen asleep. He watched her in her semi-upright position, her hand pushing against her temple as her lips moved slightly as she dreamed. He crouched down to her level, putting his hand lightly on her knee, her eyes shot open and she sucked in a deep breath. "I must have fallen asleep…" She said, her eyes were full of exhaustion, her cheeks turning pink in embarrassment.

"Must have…" Booth replied, smiling at her attempt at catching her quickened breath. "I'll go get you a pillow…" He whispered as he stood up and started walking toward the bedroom.

"Booth, I can't stay here…" She said as she sat up straighter, watching him disappear into the bedroom, ignoring her plea. After a moment, he walked out into the living room holding a blanket and a pillow, and watched her shake her head. "Booth, I can't stay tonight?"

"And why not?" He asked, eyebrows raised in curiosity, he watched her stammer internally as she tried to think of a good reason.

"Because Parker is here." She replied, his eyes sparkling as he laughed lightly.

"Parker isn't going to mind, he likes you…" Booth replied as he held out the pillow and blanket.

"But I… I should get home for…"

"For what, your house plants?"

"I don't have house plants."

"Exactly", he replied. He placed the pillow on one end of the couch. "Okay… legs up…" He said, leaning down, he picked up her legs and started to turn her on the couch.

"Booth…" She whined as she leaned back on the pillow and looked up at him.

"God, you're whineier than Parker…" He said with a playful smile as he spread the blanket over her.

"I'm not whining, I'm just vocalizing my discontent." She mumbled.

"Whining." He said as he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Get some sleep, Temperance… we still have a lot of talking to do…"

"How am I going to get up in time for work?" She asked with a pout.

"Maybe you'll be lucky… and you'll be woken up with a kiss…" He said, raising his eyebrows, he watched as a mischievous grin spread across her face.

"Promise?" She whispered sleepily.

"I promise… Sweet dreams, Temperance…"

"Don't call me Temperance…" She mumbled as she yawned, cuddling into the blanket she slipped off to sleep, even with Booth standing beside her.

"Bones…" He said affectionately, as he turned and walked toward the spare bedroom.


	48. I Dont Know What That Means

The sound of voices whispering was the first thing she heard when she became aware of the energy in the air. Her cheek was pressed into the pillow beneath her head, her eyelids delicately closed as she listened to the indecipherable whispers. There was a deep whisper, followed by a smaller, higher pitched whisper, a giggle.

She almost smiled.

Almost… smiled, there was another giggle, another whisper, and the sound of socked feet moving across the hardwood floor.

"Are you sure?" The small voice whispered.

"Just do it… she has to go to work…" The deeper voice whispered.

"Daddy…" The small voice giggled.

"Just do it, or I'll do it…" The deeper voice whispered back.

"Gross…" The little voice whispered, as she suddenly felt a warm kiss being left on her cheek. Her eyes opened, and she was staring into the dark brown eyes of Parker Booth. "Daddy! She woke up!" He laughed as he ducked down onto the floor, crawling across the floor so she couldn't see him.

"That was the point, Parker." Booth laughed as he leaned over the couch. "Good morning, sunshine…" He smiled, looking down at his partner with a smile.

"Good morning…" She mumbled back, her eyes holding a curious sparkle that made her lip curl up in a smile. "What are you two up to?"

"Daddy gave me two dollars to kiss you!" Parker exclaimed as he jumped up from where he was crawling, hanging over the back of the couch, he looked down at his father's partner and giggled. "Pay up." He said, holding his hand out to his father, who nodded toward the kitchen.

"Go clean up your cereal bowl, and we'll see about payment." He said, watching Parker roll his eyes and hop down, he ran into the kitchen.

"You had to pay him to kiss me?" She asked, raising her eyebrows, her voice sounded tired, but the smile had yet to leave her lips.

"Why not?" He said, leaning down over the couch, he kissed her lightly on her lips and smiled against them as he stood up straighter. "That Chad guy is paying you to date him." He said with a wink as he turned and walked toward the kitchen.

"Hey! That's not fair!" She exclaimed as she tried to sit up, pulling herself up to look over the back of the couch.

"Same thing…" He said, disappearing around the corner with a hearty laugh, as he listened to her mumble something and flop back down on the couch.

---------------

After a couple of moments in the kitchen cleaning up the breakfast bowls, Booth looked up to see Brennan hobbling into the kitchen. "What are you doing in here?" He asked as she approached him on the crutches, just when he thought she was going to make it to him, she turned and reached for the cupboard where she knew he kept the coffee cups.

"You're a horrible host…" She mumbled as she pulled a cup from the cupboard.

"Oh, am I?" He asked, turning around, he had a hot cup of coffee in his hand that he had just poured, he watched her eyes widen.

"Is that for me?" She tilted her head and smiled as he nodded and she placed the mug that she had taken from the cupboard back. "You're sweet…" She said as she took a step forward, watching him take a step back. "What are you doing?" She asked as he took another step back.

"Trying to lure you into the living room…" He said, turning around, he walked back into the living room as she hobbled after him.

"That's not fair… you can't tease with coffee… that's just cruel…" She whined as she glanced to the bedroom door. Parker came careening from the bedroom suddenly, sliding to a stop in front of Brennan.

"Hey, no running…" Booth said, watching Parker grin up at his partner as he rolled his eyes.

"Sorry." He mumbled. "Hey Bones, do you want to see my new dinosaur figures? They're really awesome!" He exclaimed.

"Let Bones take it easy, Park… she just woke up…"

"Of course I'd love to see your dinosaurs…" She said, answering Parker's question before glancing to Booth, who shook his head and watched his son take off toward the bedroom to find his backpack.

"You don't have to humor him, you know…" Booth replied as she shook her head.

"I'm not humoring him." She said, moving toward the couch, she sat down and reached for the cup in his hands. "He wanted to show me, and I'm very interested." She said as Parker appeared behind his father, pushing his way through, he plopped down beside Bones with his bag, leaving Booth to sit on the other end of the couch. "Aren't you?"

"I know everything there is to know about those dinosaurs…"

"Oh yeah?" Parker asked as he pulled a dinosaur from his bag. "Which one is this?"

"That's a… dinner plate o'saurus…" Booth replied confidently.

"No!" Parker exclaimed laughing, he glanced to Brennan, who shrugged.

"You don't know what this is neither?" He asked, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Nope…" She lied, watching Booth's eyes sparkle as Parker shook his head.

"Are you for real?"

"I'm for real…" She laughed. "Tell me about this dinosaur…"

"Well, it's a stegosaurus… and he's a plant eater… and…"

"See, I was right, dinner plate o'saurus!" Booth exclaimed as Parker started to laugh.

"No! STEG a SAURUS…" he exclaimed. "Steg means… um… " Brennan leaned forward and whispered something in Parker's ear, and Booth watched the grin spread on his son's face. "Stegosaurus means roof lizard…" He said confidently, his eyes sparkling toward Brennan as he looked to his father.

"Wow… and how did you know that?" Booth asked as the little boy smiled and looked toward his bag.

"Let's try another dinosaur!" He exclaimed, reaching into his bag for another toy, he giggled as he listened to the two adults enjoying his company.

----------------------

When her coffee cup was empty, and her mind was full of Parker's dinosaur facts, Brennan sighed when she thought of going to work. She couldn't think of a time when she'd rather be doing something other than working, but right now sitting on the couch with a coffee table full of dinosaurs, and a contented smile on her face, she almost dreaded leaving the warmth and company of her companions.

"You ready to go, Bones?" Booth asked, getting up to find his son's jacket, he looked at the almost sad look on his partner's face. "Are you okay?" He asked, tilting his head curiously as Parker stepped up beside him and grabbed his jacket from his dad's hands, slipping it on his arms.

"Yeah, come on, Bones… so we can meet you for lunch later!" He said excited, glancing up at Booth, he grabbed his father's hand as she stood up slowly and grabbed her crutches.

"But my car… my car is here…" She said as she watched him shake his head.

"Yeah, but Parker's seat is in the truck… let's go, Bones… get the show on the road…"

"I don't know what that means…" She said as she hobbled past him into the hallway, followed by Parker and Booth.

"Don't worry, Bones… I don't know what it means either…" Parker shrugged, as the three of them made their way to the car together.


	49. Diner and Date

"Hey, stop kicking your feet…" Booth said to his son as he sat across from him at the Royal Diner, Parker looked across and sighed.

"When is she gonna be here…? We've been waiting here for an hour…" Parker whined.

"It has been ten minutes, and she's a lady… ladies need time to get ready, be polite." Booth replied. "Besides, we're a little early." He said, glancing out the window again. Angela had agreed to bring Brennan to the diner at lunch time, and the Booth boys were biding their time as they waited.

"Can we at least order?" Parker complained.

"No… you have to wait until the ladies get here…" Booth said with his eyebrows raised. "Stop kicking your feet."

"But you already know what they're going to have." Parker sighed, sitting up.

"Stop complaining, please." Booth replied, watching his son sigh and roll his eyes, he watched out the window for Angela's car.

"Is Bones your girlfriend?" Parker asked, his elbows resting on the table, he leaned on his hands and stared at his father's face looking for a reaction.

"Huh?"

"Bones… is she your girlfriend. You were hugging her like she's your girlfriend. You kissed her this morning when we dropped her off. She must be your girlfriend." Parker smiled.

"Okay, okay… enough with the girlfriend talk… Bones and I are… partners…we work together." He said, hoping his son would forget the kiss, but knowing full well that he wouldn't.

"Joey Massey's dad has a partner… but he's a guy… I don't think I ever saw them kiss before…"

Booth's forehead wrinkled at this tidbit of information, trying to figure out a way to explain everything to Parker that he could before Angela and Bones arrived. "She's not… that kind of partner, she's my work partner."

"That you kiss."

"Yes, that I kiss… she's not technically my girlfriend."

"Do you go out on dates?"

"Why are you asking me all of these questions?"

"I dunno… so… do you go out on dates?"

"We were supposed to go out on a date on Saturday."

"And she doesn't want to go?"

"She has a date with another guy on Saturday." Booth explained.

"Oh." Parker said, watching his father carefully. "Where are they going?"

"To a party… why am I telling you all of this?" He asked, shaking his head as the little boy looked at his father curiously.

"She's going to a party and you weren't invited?"

"Parker…"

"Last year, Jill Harrington had a birthday party, and me and Zach Renfro weren't invited to it, so we got real mad and decided that if she was going to be mean and not invite us to her party, that we were gonna throw water balloons at her the next day at school." He said with a mischievous smile.

"Yeah, how did that turn out for you?" Booth asked, smirking slightly at the idea.

"Um… the water balloons broke in my backpack on the way to school… it wasn't a good idea." He nodded solemnly, making Booth chuckle. "All I'm saying, is that it sucks not to be invited to a party…"

"Parker… language…"

"Sorry." He muttered. "So why is this man taking her to the party and you're not?" He asked, leaning on his hands again, watching Booth shake his head.

"Because he gave money to the Jeffersonian… the party is for people who give money to the museum… and museum employees… and I'm neither…"

"I got ten dollars at home." Parker shrugged. "You can give that to the museum, and then you can go to the party!" he said excitedly with a grin, watching his father shake his head.

"Nah…" He chuckled. "I appreciate your generosity, bud… but she promised this guy she'd go to the party with him…"

"So you're just going to sit home like a loser?"

"Parker!" Booth exclaimed as he noticed Angela and Brennan getting out of the car. He waved to them and smiled, and Parker moved to the window and pushed his face against the glass and laughed when Bones tapped on it. "Okay, okay… that's enough, you're getting the window all gross…"

"It's okay…" Parker laughed as he sat down in his chair and looked across at Booth.

"Listen… no girlfriend talk, no party talk, no money talk… got it?"

"Why?" He giggled as he watched his father squirm.

"Just… don't…" He said with a warning glare as Angela opened the door, and held it for Brennan to come in on her crutches.

"Bones!" Parker exclaimed as he leapt from his chair, he started to run toward her, though was intercepted by Booth, who caught him before he could get away. "Dad!" He laughed as Booth put him in the chair beside him, and watched the two women approach the table. They both sat down, and Parker pulled from his father's grip and moved over to Bones, letting her wrap her arms around him tightly. "I missed you…" He said with a smile, as Brennan glanced at Booth, who shrugged his shoulders.

"It has only been a couple of hours." She said curiously as he grinned at her as if he knew something that she didn't. He waved to Angela, and then he moved over to his chair and smiled across at Bones, then at Booth, and back to Bones again.

"Cut it out…" Booth said as Brennan's brow furrowed in confusion.

"You cut it out…" Parker elbowed his father and laughed, as the waitress came over.

"So… did you guys order yet?" Angela asked, unsure if she and Brennan were interrupting some kind of male bonding ritual or not.

"Uh… No… we were waiting for you…" Booth replied politely.

"You knew what we were going to have…" Brennan said, looking at the menu. "I don't see why you just didn't order for us."

"Ha!" Parker exclaimed, getting a glare from his father, where he slapped his hand over his mouth. "Swowwy…" He giggled, as Booth shook his head at his son, and nodded to Brennan and Angela to give their orders.


	50. Gone Fishin'

Lunch went off without a hitch, and Parker kept his promise to his father and didn't mention anything about 'girlfriends, parties, or money', and Booth appeared to be happy as he was nearly caught staring into Brennan's eyes again as she spoke. Angela thought she had caught it, but before she could be sure, his gaze was averted to his son's plate of French fries. He reached beside him and grabbed one from his plate.

"Hey!" Parker exclaimed, slapping his father's hand as Booth shot him a warning glare, the pout on the little boy's face appeared as he sighed and let his father grab another French fry.

"So tell me again what happened yesterday afternoon between you two." Angela said, watching Booth's eyes avert back to the table, and then back to hers.

"We didn't tell you what happened." Brennan said, looking to Angela, then to Booth. "So to tell you again, would be to tell you the first time, and…."

"And nothing happened." Booth replied. "It was a disagreement… we have disagreements, it's our process… it's what we do."

"It's what you do to solve a case, Booth. Don't play coy with me, you two haven't had a case all week… were you arguing over who is going to finish the paperwork from the last case, or were you arguing about which one of you forgot to make the bed that morning?" She asked with a sly grin, as Brennan and Booth stared at one another for a moment, neither of them giving way to anything.

"Bones doesn't sleep in daddy's bed, Angela… Bones slept on the couch last night." Parker exclaimed with a smile, watching Brennan and Booth both look to the little boy.

"The couch?" Angela laughed. "I thought you said you picked her up at her place."

"I didn't think that the information was pertinent, how I got into Booth's… car this morning. I stopped by last night, fell asleep on his couch, and in the morning he brought me to my place to shower and change. Nothing strange, nothing out of the ordinary."

"Just a friend being a friend." Booth finished, glancing to Parker, who looked like he really wanted to say something. Booth sent him a warning glance, and Parker's eyes narrowed in another pout.

"Speaking of a friend being a friend…" Angela said, shaking her head at her two friend's constant denial. "You and I are going shopping tonight." She said with a grin.

"Shopping?" Brennan asked curiously.

"For dresses, Bren. Big event, Saturday…"

"I have dresses, they will be just fine for…."

"We're going shopping, sweetie… even if I have to handcuff you to a wheelchair and drag you from store to store, you're coming with me." Angela laughed.

-----------------

Lunch wrapped up, and before they knew it, the Booth boys were left sitting at the table together alone, the check on the table unpaid as he had insisted that he'd take care of it. "So… they left pretty quickly when I mentioned that I'd pay." Booth said as he looked through his wallet for cash.

"I thought you were supposed to pay for a lady's food… you say it's polite." Parker asked.

"That's right… and I probably shouldn't be complaining about it, huh?" He asked with a smile, watching Parker smile and nod back at him.

"So… What are we going to do?" Parker asked with a grin.

"Let's go… to the arcade!" Booth replied, as he pulled the money from his wallet, grabbed the check and walked toward the counter.

"Yeah!"

-----------------

The afternoon rolled by slowly, and Booth had heard nearly nothing from the depths of the Jeffersonian lab, except when he called her office and left a quick message that he was thinking about her, while Parker was busy killing androids at the arcade. He had stepped out of the arcade just far enough to be able to see Parker, and not be assaulted by the constant pinging of sounds from the games. He listened to her voice on the machine and sighed, making a split second decision. "Bones… hey, it's me…" He sighed. "Listen… I know you're going to be getting ready for this thing on Saturday…and um… I decided that I'm going to take Parker on a little surprise fishing trip. We'll probably drive up to Massachusetts… or just… somewhere a little out of the way. Since I have today and tomorrow off, and I never get this much time off… I figure you won't care, it'll give you some time with Angela… time to get ready for your event… charity thing… I'll be home on Sunday… call if you want… I miss you." He whispered, as he closed the phone and sighed.

He then turned toward the arcade, walked in just as Parker lost his last quarter to the androids. "Dad, do you have another quarter?" He asked eagerly.

"Actually… I have a better idea… why don't we get going…"

"What is it?"

"It's a surprise." He said with a laugh, holding his son's hand, he lead them from the arcade, in search of some adventure.


	51. Retail Therapy

Brennan stood in the dressing room of the fourth dress store that Angela had dragged her to. She held her cell phone to her ear and listened to the ring. She was waiting for him to answer, getting more and more frustrated with every second that he had left that brief message on her work phone, yet had refused to answer her calls. She sighed in resignation, listening as his voicemail picked up once again. She jumped when a voice above her spoke her name.

"Brennan…" Angela's irritated voice sighed from above her, looking over the changing room wall.

"Angela! I'm changing!"

"First of all, I've already seen it before… second of all… hand me the phone."

"What? No."

"Hand me the phone, Bren… now…it's for your own good."

"But…"

"Come on…" Angela said, wiggling her fingers as Brennan glared up at her and tuned it off, lifting it up to her friend, she continued to glare. "Now stop with the angry face and try the blue dress on." She said as she pulled back the phone and climbed back into her own dressing room.

Brennan was quiet for a moment, trying on the dress that Angela had insisted she try on, and huffed the whole way through it. "I hate trying on dresses. I know my size, I should have just told you to pick me something out, and we wouldn't have to go through this every time there is an event. Besides, my closets are already too full of dresses that I rarely wear anymore, I should just sell them, or donate them, or…"

"Sweetie, you're just not having fun because you can't get Booth to answer the phone." Angela said, hearing the silence in the dressing room next to her, there was no movement for a moment.

"I wasn't… I don't need him to call me." She stammered slightly as she attempted to zip the dress up in the dressing room.

"Right, which is why you have been calling him every ten minutes since we left your office. You got your messages, one was most likely from him, and now he won't answer the phone. What is going on between you two?" Angela asked with a knowing smile.

"Nothing." Brennan stated clearly. "Nothing is going on between us. He just said… to call him if I wanted to talk to him, and I wanted to talk to him."

"And he's not answering." Angela stated, shaking her head.

"No." Brennan replied, and remained silent for several moments, continuing to look at herself in the mirror she sighed when she, out of habit, reached for her jacket to get her phone, she closed her eyes and mumbled to herself when she remembered that Angela had just taken it.

"What was that, sweetie?" Angela asked, hearing Brennan talking under her breath.

"Nothing… can you zip me up?" She asked, opening the door, she stepped out of the dressing room, and glanced to the side, where Angela stepped out of hers.

"Oh, sweetie, you look gorgeous in that dress…" She said, watching Brennan turn around immediately, waiting for her friend to zip the dress up, she turned her around and looked directly into her blue eyes. She could see that there was a tinge of disappointment in her face, and she didn't miss a beat. "You wish you were going to this thing with Booth, don't you?"

Brennan paused, watching her friend carefully as she gave her a sympathetic look, the pity was in her expression whether she knew it was there or not, and Temperance Brennan did not want to be pitied. "He said he was going fishing with Parker."

"So?" Angela asked, shrugging her shoulders. "So he wants to get away, why would it matter to you? You said he didn't care that you had a date, that you were going to this thing tonight."

"But he just… called and left a message." She said, pitifully. "He called and left a message saying he was going out of town, and then… now… now he won't answer his phone." She whispered.

"Bren, I don't understand why you're so upset about him going fishing with his son, it's not like you guys had plans, or that he owes you any kind of…" Angela paused when she noticed Brennan wince slightly. "Oh my God." Angela whispered.

"Angela…"

"You and Booth are, aren't you?" She said with her eyebrows raised and a grin that threatened to split her face.

"Sleeping together? No." Brennan replied truthfully. "Dating? Not… exactly."

"Wait…" Angela asked, with a bit of a laugh, watching a bit of playfulness playing in her friend's eyes amidst the worries and the concern. "You're not dating, and you're not sleeping together… so you're just…"

"Exactly where we were before." Brennan nodded. "But… we kiss a lot more." She said, finally giving Angela a little bit of information.

"So what does that mean?" Angela asked, still smiling at her friend.

"It means that I have a date on Saturday, and it was supposed to be with Booth… and now he's gone for the weekend, and I won't see him until this is all over with." She sighed.

"Aw… you had to give up your first date for this stupid event?" Angela asked, watching Brennan nod. "It's okay though, you'll have a chance for that first date." She said, watching Brennan nod her head and avert her gaze. "What's wrong?"

"I just… feel like I ran Booth off this weekend, and… he won't answer the phone…"

"You think he's mad at you?"

"I am mad at me, and him not answering the phone is just an indication that he's most likely angry with my decision." Brennan mumbled and sighed, looking up into her friend's eyes. "I think I should get this dress. The color goes well with my eyes." She said with a serious expression.

"Not to mention that you look hot, hot, hot…" Angela said as she watched Brennan roll her eyes and laugh a little, as she turned toward the dressing room to change into her clothes so that they could get out of there.


	52. Saturday Morning

Brennan woke on Saturday morning staring at the wall in her bedroom. She had to prepare for her day, and since she still hadn't heard from Booth, she was very much dreading the evening. She hadn't been sleeping well, and for some reason, the glass of wine she had before she had retired the night before had given her a slight headache that pounded rhythmically in her head. She then heard the faint buzzing of her front doorbell and groaned, rolling onto her back. The doorbell buzzed again, almost insistently, and she thought for a moment, that maybe, perhaps, it was Booth. At the thought, she nearly leapt from the bed, glancing to her phone to see if there had been any messages on her phone during the night that she hadn't seen, and she grumbled disappointedly at the fact that there hadn't been. Booth had been gone since Thursday, and already she was suffering from withdrawal. "Pathetic." She mumbled to herself as she grabbed her crutches and moved toward the door, grabbing a glance at herself in the mirror, she noted she was decent enough to answer the door at eight in the morning on a Saturday. If anyone expected her to be in anything other than a t-shirt and sweatpants with a messy ponytail in her hair, their expectations were far too high. She moved through the apartment quickly, hearing the bell buzz again. "I'm coming… stop ringing the damn…" She opened the door and was greeted immediately by a man standing at her door with a large package. "Bell…" She muttered.

"Doctor Temperance Brennan?" The man greeted with a friendly smile, she tilted her head and gave him a scrutinizing glare.

"Yes?"

"Package for you."

"I didn't… order anything." She said softly, mostly to herself as she stepped back and allowed the man to enter the apartment.

"Well, this was a special delivery, it was set up a couple of days ago… guy said make sure that I delivered this, and… this…" He said, holding out a long, narrow white box. "This morning specifically… that I needed to install this for you… he paid extra."

"Well, let me see what it is first…" She said, raising her eyebrows, she moved around the package and looked at the size of it. Rectangular, and fairly thin, she was unsure of what it was until she reached her fingertips below the top of it, and pulled just a bit from the corner, a small smile began to appear on her face, as she tore the paper from the object, immediately recognizing the antique mirror that Booth had removed from her apartment, the one that he had fallen into that day, completely fixed and restored. Slipped into the corner of the mirror was a slip of paper, her name delicately traced across the front of it. She looked to the delivery man, and smiled. "It… can be installed in the bathroom." She said, pointing to the correct room. "You'll see where it goes…" She said, as the man nodded and walked past her with the mirror, disappearing into the bathroom.

She turned, holding the paper in her hands, she maneuvered toward the couch and sat down, her eyes moving toward the box that sat unopened on her coffee table, and opened the note. Written in delicately scrawled handwriting, was a message that made her smile so brightly, that it reached her eyes, and then some.

_Who is predictable now?_

_Love,_

_B._

She stared at the words on the paper and smiled at their conversation on their stakeout, where he had insisted that he was unpredictable. She almost laughed at the memory of his seat snapping backwards, and the memory of the looks on their face when they found their lips only inches apart, her weight pressing down on him as they lie in that precarious position. She looked up when she heard the sound of the delivery man walking out from the bathroom, and she started to stand up when he held his hand out to her.

"No need to stand up, Ma'am… it's installed. The other package is there… I just need, you to sign here." He said with a friendly smile, he handed her a clipboard and she signed her name beneath the line, looking up at the delivery man. "Thank you, Ma'am."

"Wait… let me give you a tip…" She said as she reached behind her for her purse, only to see the man shaking his head.

"No, no it's okay… the guy that had me deliver it… he already gave me a tip, told me not to take one from you." He said with a smile.

"Well, take this anyway…" She said with a smile, handing him a few dollars. "You at least deserve something for making my day, today." She replied, her smile happy and contented as the man took the money gratefully and nodded.

"Have a good day, Ma'am." He said, gathering the packing materials, he nodded again and let himself out, being sure to close the door behind him.

Brennan sat staring at the box on the coffee table, the long white box that seemed to be just screaming for her to lift the lid and see the contents. A gift from Booth, on the day he was dreading, on the day she was dreading, in fact. She mulled for a moment, continuing to stare at the box, and her thoughts went to why he wasn't answering his phone. She assumed it wasn't anger, if it were anger these gifts wouldn't have arrived, so perhaps her own irrational thoughts, mixed with the cloudiness of jealousy, and the screen of responsibility had caused her to assume that he was angry, when he was probably just distancing himself from her, allowing her to do what she needed, allowing her to be herself in a situation that she would have felt uncomfortable, and so completely not herself had he been around, hounding her or teasing her about this non date she was going to this evening. He was just giving her space, and for that, she was appreciative.

Leaning forward, she pulled the box into her hands, letting it rest in her lap, she paused, her fingertips at the edge of the lid of the box, unsure of what lie within it. She very slowly and carefully lifted the lid, placing it on the coffee table. She then moved her fingers through the light tissue paper that lined the box, a card nestled under the first layer found its way to her fingertips. 'Temperance' was written across it, similarly to it was on the folded piece of paper in the mirror package. She slipped the card from its envelope, finding nothing but a plain white card, she turned it over.

_Please smile tonight. I love your smile._

_Love Always,  
B._

The words that she read not only made her smile, it made her blush, and she found her fingertips rolling through the paper to its destination, a stem catching her eyes as she pulled the hidden flower from within the box. A single yellow rose, with delicate red highlights at its tips, the color draining through the veins of the flower like blood through the vessels toward its heart. She stared at the delicate flower in front of her and could feel the warm feeling of something rolling through her body. Perhaps it was love, perhaps it was admiration, but the one thing was clear, and that was that there was only one person in this world that could make her feel this way.

Her phone rang suddenly, and with her heart pounding in skipped beats and palpitations, she grabbed hold of the receiver, hoping that it would be his voice on the other end of the line.

"Sweetie?" Brennan almost let out the breath she had been holding, but if she did, her friend would know that she was hoping for someone else to be on the other end of the line. She didn't reply, and Angela continued. "Are you ready for me to pick you up yet?"

"Why?" She managed to say, without releasing that breath.

"Hair, sweetie… we have to get our hair done… I'll be there in an hour."

"Okay." She said, slamming the phone down on the receiver, she let that breath out, tears springing to her eyes as she stared at the flower in her fingertips, wishing for just this one time, that things could be different today.


	53. Red Rose

Brennan stood in her bathroom, checking her makeup yet again, when she heard the buzz of the doorbell. She sighed as she stared into her own eyes, and the fact that her mirror was back in its rightful place, only managed to conjure images of the man who had gotten it repaired. Of course it was also after he had broken it, but that was beside the point. She found herself smiling at herself in the reflection, her eyes dancing over her low cut deep blue dress, the way it hugged her body just right, the way her hair was mostly up, but for a stray tendril or two that cascaded down the side of her face and framed her elegant bone structure just perfectly. Her eyes drifted to the corner of the mirror, where tucked into the frame sat the two notes that she had gotten from her most adored admirer, and she smiled a little brighter, this time allowing it to reach her eyes. The door buzzed again and she sighed, glancing out the door. "I will be right there…" She called, reaching her fingertips out to touch the delicate petals of the rose that she had placed in a vase beside the mirror, allowing the reflection to double her bounty, and succeed in making her smile once again.

She pulled her crutches from beside the sink, decorated with dark blue fabric, Angela had made sure that they matched her dress, another accoutrement that she would have to deal with during her evening out. She moved quickly toward the door, her hand on the handle, she twisted it and opened the door, her eyes lighting up despite the knowledge that it wasn't who she had wished it would have been. He was short and blonde, a bit on the thin side, and his hair was almost floppy as it sit slicked to one side. He had a boyish look about him, one that screamed money, one that lacked substance. In other words, he was the complete opposite of a certain other person that she was thinking of, and the mere thought of him made her eyes sparkle just a bit more. "Doctor Brennan…" He said politely, pulling a small bouquet of various flowers from behind his back, she thought for a moment back when she was in high school, and she'd go out on a date with a boy, they'd always bring a mish mash of flowers, meaningless buds of faux smelling bouquets that spoke more of 'in sympathy', than 'I was thinking of you'. She took the flowers gratefully, smiling down at them, she looked up at him and brought them toward the kitchen.

"Why Chad, thank you so very much…" She said, moving quickly on her crutches, he took a step inside her apartment. "Let me take care of these, and we can get going."

"I was passing by one of those small flower stands, and I thought that you may like them." He said, his voice soft and more effeminate than Booth's. She stopped herself, standing in the kitchen beside the sink, telling herself that she needed to stop thinking about him. She put the flowers into a vase from the cupboard, and placed it on the counter. She looked up at her date and smiled.

"They're lovely." She said with a pinched smile, one that almost screamed 'good job, little guy', instead of a genuine 'thank you'. Chad didn't seem to notice the difference.

"I didn't realize you were injured, Doctor Brennan."

"Yes, I had a little mishap…" She paused, her eyes flashing to the table before continuing. "It is not an issue is it? I may not be able to dance, but I assure you that I will be very engaging in conversation." She replied, thinking for a moment that she felt that she was trying to sell herself. She chastised herself in her mind to stop playing it down, if the man didn't want to go with her, then he didn't want to go with her, who was she to argue.

"It's not an issue at all, Doctor Brennan. I'm not great of a dancer anyway. Are you ready?" He asked, watching her awkwardly for a moment, he didn't know exactly what to do. Typically, this was the point in which the man took the woman's arm and walked her to the car, but she was so obviously independent, and the issue with the crutches, there was no chance for that.

"I am ready." She said as she grabbed her handbag, and moved quickly on the crutches, following him out into the hallway and down to the car.

Chad held the door to the limo open for her and took her hand as she climbed into the back seat. He then moved around to the other side, where he climbed in. The driver drove them toward their destination, and Brennan sat awkwardly in the spacious limo letting her mind drift slightly as the man across from her watched her. "Are you doing alright, Doctor Brennan?"

"You can call me Tempe, Chad. I'm doing very well." She nodded, giving him a quick smile before her gaze was out the window again, her focus straying slightly from her evening until she saw the note from her mirror in her mind, and instantly a smile rose on her lips, as she decided to enjoy herself, to smile, and to look forward to seeing the face of her friend the following day.

-------------------

Brennan and Chad arrived amongst the throngs of donors and employees who were invited to the event, a large event tent set up on the mall, live music and entertainment, along with the promise of delicious food and conversation. Brennan was immediately swept up in the greetings of her constituents, and made sure to introduce her younger date whom was working his way through the crowd of people who gave well wishes for his father, and offered advice to him on his current ventures.

Brennan was finding herself a part of several conversations at once, her smile never leaving her face as she moved quickly around the tent, the meet and greet portion of the evening a smashing success. They settled for their meals, and happily, they found themselves sitting with Angela and Hodgins, and several other staff members that were also in attendance. "Angela, this is Chad…" She said quickly. "Chad, this is Angela Montenegro, she said with a polite smile. She does facial reconstruction, and this is Hodgins, he…"

"Bug and Slime guy." Hodgins said, shaking Chad's hand, they smiled politely as the dinner was served and conversation began to roll around the table smoothly.

Angela watched Brennan carefully, and though she was clearly enjoying the company of her companion, she could tell that her friend's mind was otherwise occupied. "Sweetie?" Angela said, watching Brennan's eyes lift to her friend, her eyebrows rising as she tipped her head. "Has he answered yet?" Her smile faded, her head shook and Angela immediately felt guilty for asking. "He'll be home tomorrow." She said quickly, before anyone really realized what she was talking about anyway, as Brennan sighed.

They ate their dinner among quiet conversation, and as soon as the plates were cleared from the table, they prepared for a few rounds of dancing before the speeches from various donors were to be made. Angela grabbed Hodgins' hand and pulled him out to the dance floor, and Chad sat beside his date politely conversing with her, while the music played around them. Brennan noticed a woman across the room, who had been trying to catch her date's eye for some time, and he had done his utmost to remain polite to her, trying his best not to acknowledge her faraway glances. "Do you know that woman over there?" She asked, nodding in the direction of the girl, who hid her face and talked with her friends as Chad glanced over.

"That's Maggie Worthington." He said with a tight smile, trying to remain courteous, he didn't want it to appear as if he wasn't enjoying himself. "We were in grade school together… she's the daughter of Judge Worthington…"

"So she's unmarried…"

"Yes." He said softly, his eyes meeting hers as he tilted his head. "But I'm having a wonderful evening with you."

"You don't have to take pity on me… if you'd like to dance with her, ask her to dance." She said, watching the woman glance over, and look away quickly when she noticed that they were looking in her direction.

"Yes, but I'm not here with her, I'm here with you. It would be rude of me to dance with another woman when you're my date, you're my focus."

"Yes, but it would be rude of me to expect you to sit here and pretend to be engaged while you're so obviously wishing you could be holding her in your arms."

"Tempe…"

"Don't argue… go on… I'll be fine here. My foot is aching anyway, I wouldn't be much fun." She said, nodding toward the woman as Chad shook his head.

"You're sure?"

"I'm positive… just because I'm sitting here thinking of someone else, doesn't mean we both should be." She said, smiling as the young man stood up and watched her.

"You are a vision." He said, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

"Go on… don't keep flirting with me, she's waiting…" Brennan said, laughing slightly as the young man stood up straight and smiled, turning around, he approached Maggie.

She sat alone at the table, listening to the band play an upbeat song, the bow of the violin gliding gracefully over the strings, she concentrated on just that sound, when she felt the weight of someone's eyes on her. She didn't dare turn around, because if she did, there was sure to be disappointment. She felt a tremble that started deep in her belly and traveled through her body quickly, almost tickling her as she held her breath for a moment. Her eyes remained on the crowd, friends dancing with friends, strangers dancing with strangers, and like something out of a dream, a red rose floated into view, held with the stem between a thumb and forefinger, it twirled lightly as her breath caught in her throat, the fresh scent of the rose wafting through the air and into her nostrils.

And like that dream, she felt a gentle breath on her neck and lips at her ear as the scent of him collided with that of the rose. "You know…" His voice melted into the air as he spoke just above a whisper. "Through meaningless research, I was able to determine that there are people, which believe the color of a rose is meant to convey a message to the person that it's given to." He said as he felt her head tip toward his slightly, as if she were trying to connect herself to the voice, as if it were the sun, and she were a plant, and that voice gave her life. He heard a slight whimper in reply to his statement, and though her eyes hadn't met his, he could feel her head, pushing into his slightly, the scent of her hair intoxicating him as he continued. "Yellow… inherently means… friendship… and yellow… yellow with red tips symbolizes falling in love." He said as the rose twirled in her fingertips, her eyes mesmerized by the dance of the flower before her. "Temperance…" Her name danced through the air in the same manner as he had written it on the card that she had read that morning. "Do you know what a red rose symbolizes?"

There was a long, breathless pause as the flower continued to dance, rolled between his fingers, the scent floated to her again and again as she turned her head from the rose, and her eyes met with the dark depths of his, pupils dilated and sparkling like never before as she watched the smile on his lips meet his eyes. Her red lips trembled with the need to answer, but no words would come forth. She was lost in his eyes for a moment, and she watched the corners of his eyes wrinkle just slightly as his lips moved to a knowing smile, and she found herself, if only by habit, smiling back at him with wide eyed tenderness.

"Love?" She whispered, the nod he gave her was one of permission and nearly one of dare as she leaned forward against her chair, and pressed her lips to his.


	54. A Spectacle

The moment their lips had touched, they both felt the heat of the moment, and though it was a quick, passion filled kiss, it was far too short for either of them. She reached her hand up and placed it on his shoulder, their lips separating willfully, though he wanted nothing more than to taste her again. "What are you doing here?" She whispered, her hand sliding up the shoulder of his tuxedo jacket, her fingertip caressing his neck as she leaned forward and pulled him toward her slightly, resting her forehead against his.

"I was invited." He said, his smile playful and warm, his eyes so happy, that she just wanted to devour him completely. "You look absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you." She whispered.

"I think it's… the smile." He whispered knowingly, feeling her fingertips grip the back of his neck just a little more, her smile brightening with her eyes. "That's the one." He whispered.

"Booth…" She whispered. "We're not alone."

"No." He shook his head.

"I just kissed you in front of all of these people."

"Is that a problem?" He whispered.

"I thought this was supposed to be a secret."

"Oops…" he said, his tone absolutely humored as he listened to her release a nervous breath she had been holding.

"I can't believe you're here." She whispered.

"Well… I heard that there was a beautiful woman sitting alone at a table somewhere… and I just couldn't let that happen."

"I don't understand." She whispered.

He looked down at the rose in fingertips of her other hand. "I came to get you… to rescue you, to hold you… dance with you… to love you." He whispered. "Do you understand that?"

"Do I understand love?" She whispered.

"Do you? What is love?" He asked honestly, her eyes sparkling at his. "Not the chemical side… tell me what I think love is."

"You think… love is a feeling that starts in your heart." She whispered, placing her hand from his neck on his chest. "You say it starts in your heart and it's something that gives you no control over yourself… sometimes, you can't speak… love can make you mute. Sometimes you don't hear… love makes you deaf… sometimes you can't feel… love has a way of numbing pain… In love, you see things differently… it can make you blind. You say it's a sense of love… when what love is, really… by your description… a lack of senses… it's an illogical, irrational, flaw filled feeling that makes you do stupid things… like… kick coffee tables…and break your foot." She said, letting the delicate smile grace her lips as she watched his smile widen.

"What are you saying, Temperance?" He asked in a delicately hushed tone.

"I love you." She whispered. "I love you so much." She whispered, quickly and surprisingly to them both, she wrapped her arms around him tightly, burying her face in his neck as he smiled, and with her still holding on, he began to stand up. "Booth, what are you doing?" She whispered as she looked around as he lifted her. Many people were watching, and her arms were still around her neck as he held her, and pulled her into a standing position, moving around her chair so that he was standing in front of her, against her, holding her up as she stared into his eyes.

"First, I'm going to dance with you." He whispered, raising his eyebrows as he spoke in a low, husky tone. He glanced to his right and noticed that there were several people looking in their direction, including her date, who was dancing with another young woman. "Then… we're coming back here… and you're going to pick up your rose… your pocketbook… and you're going to make some lame excuse to your date about how you have to powder your nose, or get your car washed or something…" He said, listening to her giggle as he laughed a light laugh before continuing. "Then we make our escape… and we'll make our own fun." He whispered.

"We're making a spectacle right now." She whispered.

"A spectacle? You can't be serious… I'll show you a spectacle…" He said as he pulled swiftly to his left, swinging her into the air slightly, her braced foot in the air as she let out a laugh, and felt him floating them toward the dance floor.

"I can't dance, Booth… my foot…" She said as they found themselves among the crowd, moving fluidly across the dance floor, neither of her feet touching the ground, and truthfully, she wasn't sure that they'd be touching if he had let her go.

"You can't dance? What are we doing now?" He whispered, his arms around her as he twirled her in a circle among the throngs of friends dancing with friends, and the strangers dancing with strangers, all of which turned their head as the two lovers danced together, skating across the ballroom floor as she leaned her head in the crook of his neck and let him pull her around the dance floor to the music. "By the way." He said, watching her eyes lift to meet his, they sparkled like blue crystals as he smiled at the innocence within them. She tilted her head, and listened to his words, and he knew that he had her undivided attention. "I love you." He whispered, smiling down at her, her eyes became even lighter, if that were possible, and she leaned up and pressed her lips to his, intensifying the spell as she then tucked her head into his neck once more and reveled in the feeling of his arms around her as he moved them across the dance floor.

He danced her around the room, holding her tightly, yet delicately at the same time. Their eyes danced over one another's faces, completely oblivious to everyone else, and as they danced, he moved them closer to her table. "Where are you taking me?" She whispered.

"We're making a break for it." He whispered as he danced them toward the table.

"Booth… I can't leave… they're going to do the announcements soon, I can't leave before the announcements…" She whispered as he reached her table and let her stand beside the table. She looked up into his eyes, and he simply smiled at her. "What?" She asked. He leaned down and kissed her nose.

"Hey…" A familiar voice pulled them from the split second moment where Brennan considered jumping the man in front of her in front of all of her colleagues, and her head snapped to the side, where Angela stood with a big grin. "It's about time you got here." She said, giving Booth a light punch on the arm as he shrugged and laughed, a pink hue creeping into his cheeks as his eyes flashed to Brennan, and back to Angela.

"I had some trouble with the tie." He said, shrugging as he continued holding her arms within his hands.

"Trouble with the tie, I'm sure…" Angela teased. "She was about to bore herself to death."

"I was not." Brennan said as she looked at her friend with a surprised look. "You knew he was coming here?"

"I didn't know." She replied. "But I had a feeling… Booth here knows what he wants… and he knew what was good for him."

"Right now, I want to get out of here." Booth whispered. "Miss goodie two shoes here, won't let me kidnap her…"

"Well, I thought the object of a kidnapping was to take someone against their will…" Angela shrugged.

"Great idea." Booth said as he grabbed her pocket book and the rose and handed them to Angela. "She won't need these tonight… and could you grab her crutches and bring them home with you?"

"Booth, what are you doing?" She asked, watching Angela nod her head and laugh as she took Brennan's things.

"Of course." Angela replied as suddenly, he bent down and scooped Brennan up into his arms, where she let out an irrepressible and involuntary squeal.

"Thanks, Ange… I appreciate it." Booth said as he shifted Brennan in his arms. "You look beautiful, by the way…"

"Thanks." She grinned as her friend tried to protest. "Bren… sweetie… stop struggling and let the man take you away… you're not missing a thing here."

"But my date…"

"He'll live…" Angela said, as Booth nodded in agreement and started walking toward the exit of the reception tent.

"Booth, put me down… you're embarrassing me…" She whispered, though she continued to hold him tightly. She needed to put up a fight, or else she wouldn't be Brennan.

"How am I embarrassing you, huh? You're broken… you just want me to let you walk yourself out of here?" He asked as he pushed the door. "What kind of chauvinist would I be if I let you just walk out of this place on that broken foot of yours?" He asked, backing out of the tent, he nodded toward the staring eyes of several of the donors, and disappeared out of the tent with his prize.


	55. to the bone

The sound of laughter rang out in the air as Booth carried Brennan across the grassy field and more toward the beacon of lights shining on the Washington Monument. She held him securely as the sounds of the music and conversation floated into the night, drifting into oblivion as they walked farther and farther from the event. "Where are you taking me?" She laughed as he simply chuckled and continued to walk. He lifted her up the small inclined hill that led to the next street, and stopped to take a break. "Booth… where are we going?" She asked as he looked both ways at the street, when it was clear, he started to run across the road. "Booth! You're jaywalking!" She screeched as he laughed at her reaction, stepping up onto the curb on the other side.

"I'm a cop, I get to do that…" He teased as he walked directly across the sidewalk and walked up the grass toward the Washington Monument. "I'm looking for someplace private…"

"You're not going to find one in this city." She said as he twirled her around and listened to her laugh. "Booth! You're making me dizzy!"

"Do you ever stop complaining, Bones?" He asked as he turned on the small hill, beneath a tree and tipped them both over onto the grass, having her land solidly against him as she laughed.

"Booth!" She squeaked as she landed on top of him, she rolled onto the grass and smacked him.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"I'm in an evening gown, and you're tossing me onto the ground!"

"I didn't toss you on the ground, I tossed us on the ground… and it doesn't matter about the dress."

"Why not?" She asked, sitting up, she watched as he lay back on the grass.

"Because you're not going to have it on for much longer…" He said with a smirk, as her jaw dropped in surprise.

"Booth!" She exclaimed as she reached over to smack him playfully, he caught her wrist in his hand and brought her fingers to his lips, where he kissed them tenderly as he found her eyes with his own and gave her a boyish grin.

"I mean… because you'll be getting ready for bed… so you'll have to change…"

"Oh…"

"Into something a little more comfortable…" He said with a sly grin, that made her mouth drop open as she pulled her hand from his grip and pushed against him.

"You're being incorrigible…"

"Comes with the territory." He said with a smile as he leaned his head against her for a moment and started to stand up.

"Where are you going?" She asked, as she watched him pulling his suit jacket off, and tugging at the bowtie.

"I'm not going anywhere, Bones… I'm just trying to get a little more comfortable." He said as he watched her looking up at him, he shook out his jacket slightly, and started to drape it over her shoulders. "May I?" He asked, knowing that before he did anything for Brennan, it was probably a good idea to ask first.

"Of course…" She said, slipping her arms into the sleeves, she pressed her nose against the fabric and looked up at him. He smiled down knowingly upon her and she grinned. "What?" She asked curiously as Booth shook his head. "What? Tell me?"

"You." He said, sitting down beside her on the grass. "You're just… you're amazing." He said.

"Why, because I can detect your scent on an article of your clothing? Booth, that's hardly an amazing thing."

"Bones, you can talk yourself down all you want. I'll always think you're amazing." He said softly as they settled on the grass, both leaning against one another as they listened carefully to the sounds of the car's driving down the road, and the distant music from the event on the Mall, as he tipped himself backwards, lying on the grass on his back, she turned her head and looked down at him. His eyes were not focused on her, but on the sky, the monument, the stars, and the planes that moved sluggishly across the sky. She watched him for several moments, noting the slight smirk at his lips, and the way his eyes seemed to smile though he wasn't exactly smiling. She reached down and pulled the tie that was still on his neck, and his eyes focused on her as she slipped it from his neck. "What are you doing?" He asked, watching her smile sweetly down at him.

"Trying to figure out what we're doing here…" She said as she weaved her finger in the material of the tie that she now held in her hands.

"We're relaxing, Bones. Haven't you ever just relaxed?"

"Well, of course I have, Booth… that's a ridiculous question… but typically when I relax, it involves a glass of red wine, a good book, and a bubble bath." She said, watching his smile widen slightly. "What I meant by…"

"I know what you meant, Bones." He said, reaching up, he watched her eyes flash to his hand, and back to his eyes, so he wiggled his fingers slightly to make it obvious what he wanted. She let her lips curl into a sly smile; her eyes lightening as he suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her carefully into him, sending her tumbling onto her back, where she turned and curled her head onto his chest, resting her hand across him.

"You're not going to be happy until this dress is completely ruined." She giggled, feeling his laughter from deep within his chest through her ear. After another moment, they settled into silence, listening to the sound of the city and its nighttime ritual, breathing in one another's company while they waited for nothing but the other person's voice. He opened his mouth to say something, when he looked down to see her head was moving up. She rested her head on his shoulder, and glanced into his eyes. "Where were you?" She whispered, her voice not accusatory, but concerned, and he swallowed hard as he smiled.

"I went fishing."

"With Parker?"

"Yes." He nodded. "Though, we didn't go far… and he and I got to talking… because, you know… when you're fishing, there isn't much to do but talk."

"I've never gone fishing before." She replied.

"It's a peaceful experience… it can be, I mean… and we were talking about different things, and he asked why you couldn't come with us."

"He did not."

"He likes you a lot, Bones." Booth nodded seriously. "So I told him the truth… that you had a date tonight, and you wouldn't be able to come with us… he asked why, and I told him it was because you had promised someone else that you'd take them, and he asked why, and I told him because it was part of your work, and he asked why, and…."

"He asks why an awful lot."

"You have absolutely no idea." Booth laughed, running his hand up and down her arm as he held her.

"So then what?" She whispered.

"So then he offered to give me his allowance, so that I could come to the party."

"I'm sure that a child's allowance would in no way meet the minimum donation requirement to…" She stopped herself when she noticed he was staring at her with a curious expression. "What?" She whispered. "You didn't take the poor boy's money, did you, Booth?"

"No!" He laughed. "Of course I didn't take his money… he needs it to go off and buy candy and video games, and other things to drive his mother crazy. He doesn't need to be spending money so his old man can see his girlfriend."

"Hm…" She said with a smile, still enjoying the word 'girlfriend' as it tumbled from his lips, she watched his smile as he realized what he had said. "So then what did you do?"

"I called the Jeffersonian… arranged a few things." He nodded.

"What do you mean?" She asked, sitting up slightly, she looked into his eyes, her brow furrowed as he shook his head.

"Not a big deal." He replied. "Just a little bit of a payroll deduction every month…"

"For how long?"

"Until you stop liking me." He said with a playful grin, to which she let out a throaty laugh and lay her head back on his chest as she listened to the muffled sound of his laughter through his chest. "What is so funny about that?" He asked with a laugh as she turned her head and looked back up at him.

"You're going to be paying the Jeffersonian out of your paycheck for a very long time." She said as he pulled her tighter against him.

"I hope so." He whispered, kissing the top of her head as they lie together in the grass.

"Booth?" She whispered suddenly, shifting as she looked up at him once again, their eyes meeting causing a smile to creep up his face as he watched the earnest expression in her eyes. "Thank you for the flowers. Thank you for fixing my mirror…thank you, and I'm sorry." She swallowed hard, the two words melting off her tongue like a snowflake.

"You're sorry?"

"That I have been acting childish, irrational… I'm sorry that I insisted on going tonight. You're worth the risk, you're more than worth the risk." She said, feeling her eyes watering slightly, he hugged her tighter to him.

"Don't worry about apologies… they're for another day, not today." He whispered happily, his voice low and soft. "I love you." He whispered tenderly, his eyes waiting for hers to meet his again, and when they did, it was like magic.

"I love you…" She whispered, leaning up toward him, she pressed her lips into his and shifted her body so she could leverage herself more, her hands moving to his face as she deepened the kiss. She felt his tongue exploring her mouth as they both kissed passionately, giving the other themselves as completely as they could as they lie on the grass of a national monument, when suddenly, Booth flinched a little. "What is it?" She asked, stopping the kiss, she looked into his eyes and she noticed there was water on his face.

"Is it raining?" He asked, never looking away from her eyes, she furrowed her brow.

"Raining?"

"Yeah… there's… water…" he said, when suddenly, the sprinkler system turned on full blast.

"Ah!" She screamed with a laugh as he started to scramble with her.

"Bones!" He laughed as he got up and took a step back, the water spraying them as she just lie in the grass laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. "Bones, come on!" He exclaimed, laughing at the happiness in her eyes as the sprinklers soaked both of them completely. "Bones!" He exclaimed as she just continued to laugh, seemingly unable to stop, he tugged at her arm, but she just grabbed hold of his arm with both hands, pulling him back down into the wet grass as the sprinklers soaked the two of them through their clothing. He rolled to his side, finding her lips with his, her face with his hands as they lie together kissing and laughing as the sprinklers soaked them to the bone.

**The end...**

**I know, those last two words are probably the two most horrible words in the history of fan fiction... unfortunately, this story has run it's course. I hope that you all appreciated it, for I IMMENSELY appreciated your comments and suggestions, PMs and thoughts. I look forward to your words, thank you for letting me share mine with you! :) I have another fic, if anyone is interested, though a bit angsty, i'm writing it with my partner in crime, JenMcdreamy... and it appears to be doing quite well... if you are concerned about anything, and have doubts about it, just check out the reviews, the reviewers here are fantastic and honest, and that's what I love about it here! Thanks again for reading... :)**


	56. Epilogue: To the Future

**Ok... it's an epilogue, because I couldn't resist...**

Nine Months later-

She was dangling freely at the end of her rope, the sound of the constant crunching beside her was threatening to drive her mad. She glared over at her partner, who smirked out the front window, chomping away on the potato chips in the bag that he held in his other hand, he knew exactly what each chomp was doing to his partner, and he could feel the frustration building up from the other side of the car, though she said nothing, he had noted the set jaw and narrowing eyes. "You know…" He said, his mouth full of potato chips as he watched her head turn slowly to face him. "You really gotta relax more…" He said, swallowing the chips, he licked his fingers and watched her shake her head, roll her eyes and tip her head back.

"If you don't stop eating salty, greasy snacks, you're going to become obese, probably die of a coronary… not to mention that it causes acne, high glucose levels, diabetes…"

"Bones… you're not getting me to stop eating these chips." He said, chomping down on another chip, she glared at him for several more seconds. "You're just upset because I haven't offered one to you, want one?" He asked as she tipped her head and stared at the bag, glancing up at him, she nodded.

"Sure." She said, watching the surprise in his eyes as he smiled at her.

"Seriously? What about all of that disease crap you were just preaching about?"

"Just give me a chip…" She said, holding her hand out for the bag, he held out the open bag to her, and before he could shout or say anything more, she had grabbed the bag from him, swung open the door and tossed it out the window.

"Bones!" He exclaimed, trying not to laugh as he watched the self satisfied smirk on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrows at him. "First of all, we're on a stake out, meaning… you know… you can't just open the door and toss stuff out of the car, and second of all… you're littering!"

"I wasn't littering." She said, glaring at him, though she had a hint of humor in her eyes that he always loved. "I was just saving my own sanity." She replied.

"Now I'm hungry." He mumbled as she shrugged her shoulders. She looked out the window and her eyes widened as they watched a figure stalking through the dark, entering the building through the back door. "That's our guy…" He said as he nodded toward the window.

"Are we going now?" She whispered back, sitting down slightly in her seat, she watched the door close behind the person.

"We have to wait…" He said softly, watching her eyes as they focused on the door, he smiled slightly to himself as he watched her without her knowing, her long eyelashes moving with those beautiful eyes, the way her eyebrows raised when she was waiting, just watching.

"Why am I here, anyway?" She asked, glancing to him, noticing immediately that he had been watching her again, and he had averted his gaze.

"What do you mean, why are you here? You're my partner." He replied softly, refusing to look at her for another moment, his eyes involuntarily migrating to the passenger seat as he tipped his head to the side, and watched as she interrogated him with her eyes.

"We're not on a case, Booth… a real case that you and I work on. This is some FBI case that you've been working on for the past two months, and you haven't even told me what it's about.

"Don't worry about it." He said, noticing that she was still staring at him. "Bones, what is wrong with sitting with me in the car for a little while. It's a stake out, I didn't want to be lonely, is that so wrong?"

"I guess not…" She whispered as she leaned against his arm slightly, feeling his arm wrap around her, he kissed her head. "We're not going to get shot at, are we?"

"I hope not." He said softly.

"I proposed to Cullen that he allow you to come with me on the stakeout… and he said that if we engaged in a shootout, he'd wring my neck." He said softly, feeling her nod against him, he leaned down and kissed her head again.

"I like being on stakeouts with you." She whispered, pausing for just a moment before continuing. "When you're not crunching down on potato chips, that is." She said, hearing his light chuckle from above her.

"What am I supposed to do, starve?" He asked, feeling her nod, a tender giggle leaving her lips as he looked up at the opening door. "Okay…" he said, kicking up the tension several notches, she sat up and looked out the window as the door opened a little more and then closed. "Alright…" He said, glancing to Brennan he pulled the door handle. "There's a spare gun in the glove box, grab it and let's go!" He said as he swung the door open.

Brennan swung into action, flipping open the glove compartment, she started shifting through, looking for the gun that Booth was talking about, but the only thing her hand found was a small square box. She pulled it out of the glove compartment quickly, her jaw dropping as she realized what it most likely was, and when she looked to her side, out the window, her partner stood with a sly look on his face. Her eyes were wide with shock, her hand holding the box in her hand, out to him as he grinned at her through the window. He reached his hand up and tapped on the window. "Open it." He said, laughing as she stared at him. "Bones, open the box." She still refused to move, as if she couldn't. He reached for the door handle and swung open the door. "Bones." He said, grabbing the box from her hand before she could pull it from him, he immediately dropped to one knee.

"Booth." She whispered. "I thought…"

"Shh…" He said softly as he held the box up to her and opened it slowly.

"Booth." She whispered.

"I was pretty sure that I was still talking." He said, watching the stunned look on her face remain.

"Booth." She whispered.

"What?"

"I…"

"Bones…"

"Booth, I…" She stammered.

"Temperance." He whispered, lifting the ring so she could see it. "This is for you."

"It's beautiful." She whispered, her eyes sparkling as beautifully as the diamonds in the ring before her.

"No." He whispered. "You're beautiful." He replied. "Would you wear this ring for me?" He whispered.

"But… I don't… we…" she said, still trying to manage a complete sentence. "Aren't you going to ask me?" She asked.

"Ask you what?" He asked, clearly humored by her expression. "It's just jewelry." He said with a shrug. "I didn't think you were the kind of woman who believed in archaic rituals such as marriage…"

She paused, giving him a knowing look with a simple tip of her head, she laughed at the humored expression on his face. "Even so…" She shrugged. "I'd still like to be asked… at least once in my life." She said, watching his jaw drop slightly, making her laugh.

"Bones…" He said, tipping his head with a charming smile, she giggled as he reached for her hand. "Temperance, will you please allow me to be chauvinistic, archaic, old fashioned, sexist, and…"

"Booth." She said, laughing when he shook his head softly and laughed. "Just ask!" She exclaimed , her hands on his shoulders, she shook him slightly and he straightened up.

"This was a lot easier when I was asking Parker."

"You asked Parker?" She asked raising her eyebrows.

"Of course I asked Parker, he's in this too…"

"And what did he say?" She asked, not even thinking about the fact that they were still sitting in a dark alley, and Booth was standing on one knee having a conversation with her as if they were sitting at a table at the diner.

"I recall his exact words were… 'duh, dad.'" Booth nodded as he tipped his head. "So? Will you marry me?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at her as she laughed out loud, her eyes sparkling so happily that he let out a nervous laugh.

"Wait… wait wait… so… Parker knew you were going to do this? When did you tell him?"

"Bones… just answer the question."

"Answer mine first… when did you tell him?"

"Tuesday." Booth replied. "When I brought him back to Rebecca's house.

"So he has known since Tuesday? Is that why he was grinning at me on Friday when I picked him up at school?"

"Well, yeah, probably…Bones… the question… I asked…"

"And so the stakeout thing…"

"We're not on a stakeout…"

"But the guy…"

"That guy? He was just taking out the trash for that restaurant, Bones… question… floating into oblivion, waiting for an answer." He said impatiently.

"Booth, we've been sitting in this alley for four hours."

"And for four hours, I've been working on my nerve to ask you… and now it's out there, and you won't stop talking… please, please, for the love of God, Bones… give me an answer."

"What was the question again?" She asked, listening to the sudden release of air from Booth's lungs as he grunted, and her smile only widened as she grabbed his shoulders. "Yes!" She laughed as she watched his eyes widen.

"Yes?"

"Yes…" She laughed.

"Oh, thank God!" He exclaimed as he grabbed her in a fierce hug, listening to her melodic laughter as she gripped him tightly and then pulled from the hug to look him in the eyes. "Let's get out of here… what do you say… we'll go to the diner, get a slice of pie, celebrate?"

"Booth… I don't like pie…"

"Then you can watch me eat pie…" He said, leaning forward, he kissed her lips softly as he slipped the ring onto her finger, he kissed her again and stood up, leaning down, he kissed her a third time as she watched him for another moment, before pulling his hand so he would bend down and kiss her a fourth time. "I love you."

"I love you." She whispered as he stepped back and closed the door.

She watched as he disappeared from view for a second, standing up straight, she noticed that he had picked up the bag of chips from the ground outside of the car. He grinned at her and reached his hand in the bag as she let out a laugh and rolled her eyes, shaking her head at him, as he let out full laugh and climbed into the driver's seat once again, driving them off to their next stop, and to their future.


End file.
